I Must Be Dreaming
by Radiant Neptune
Summary: Genevieve falls into middle earth with no memory of her life on earth. All she knows is that Middle Earth is not her home, and it hurts when male elves touch her. It would figure she'd have such bad luck.
1. Chapter One: Lock Down

**A/N: I'm trying my best to bring my creativeness back. So, I'm going to try out this. Now, I have never written LOTR fan fiction. It's also been about...ten years+ since I've read the books. So, pardon me if I do not quite get some things right. **

**Anyways, this has been stuck on my head. I'm hoping that someone, err, anyone enjoys it! I don't have a beta, so please excuse any errors. I'm sorry .**

* * *

_**Chapter One: Lock down**_

"_I can feel you calling me  
I can taste the poison in your heart  
But these dreams  
Blurring the line between war and peace  
To survive, I lock down."  
_

* * *

A dark abyss was surrounding her, swallowing her into nothingness as she struggled to breathe. It was as though she was being squeezed through a tube at the speed of light. There was nothing, but so much at once. She felt no fear, but she did feel a pulsing need coursing through her body. A need for what? She didn't know. She had to finish, she had to survive this. If she didn't, she never-

She breathed in, strongly and sharply, her eyes flying open as a loud, "FUCK!" exclaimed from her lips, breathing heavily and pushing her mahogany hair of her face.

Her face paled out.

She looked around, seeing herself in a fancy room. One she did _not _recognize. It was very open and bright; all the furniture was intricately carved wood in the large room. She darted her head to the side, looking out the balcony doors as a cool breeze made the silver curtains sway beautifully. Beyond the doors was a Forrest. It was dark, yet full of beauty. It was as though a beautiful painting had a large black strip painted down the middle. It ruined it, but yet you could still see that underneath, it was quite a lovely sight.

It did not match the bright and almost _heavenly _atmosphere of the room, that was for sure.

"..."

She looked around her immediate area, seeing herself sitting on a feather canopy bed. The sheets were silver, and the duvet an emerald green, that closely resembled her own eyes.

Her mind raced as she rubbed her face. Her mind couldn't recall...anything. It was as though she knew every detail, but could not place any events of her life to the knowledge.

She knew what a car was, but what kind did she have? She didn't even know if she had one. She knew what family and friends were, but she didn't know any of hers. In many ways, it didn't even make sense. But she knew she didn't know this room...at least, she didn't think she did? Maybe she had forgotten?

She was panicking again. Looking down at herself, ripping the duvet back to see a long, white, silken gown covering her shaking body.

Her eyes immediately snapped to the door, seeing an elegant man walk through the door, offering her a smile. For a reason unknown to her, she felt a sense of closeness with the man.

Her eyes calmly drifted down his form.

"Why are you wearing a dress?" she blurted without thinking; watching in almost amusement as his thick, dark eyebrows rose so far up to his platinum blonde hair, that if they were the same color, they surely would have disappeared.

"I am not wearing a dress, young mortal," he said smoothly, his voice gentle, yet dripping with sarcasm. "I am Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm." he said proudly.

Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

_'What the hell type of name was that? I hope I never have to say it, I'm going to butcher that so badly. Better yet, what the fuck is the Woodland Realm?' _

"Um..." she trailed off, not exactly sure how to respond as she eyed the pointy crown sitting on his head. "...Nice to meet you. I'm..." she frowned, her mind racing. What was her name?

_Genevieve_

She jumped slightly at the voice in her mind. It was in her voice, but it was not her thought. If that_ even_ made sense. She shook her head. Nothing made sense, maybe Vanilla Ice over there knew. She eyed his ice blue dress warily.

"Genevieve..." she whispered, looking down. "But please call me Evie."

She blinked. Evie? Where did_ that_ come from?

His dark eyebrows pulled together as he slowly walked towards her, making her head whip up sharply as he lightly sat at the end of the bed. He held out pale, long fingered hands, palms up.

"Both are very...unusual to me," he tilted his head. "allow me to see your palms."

"Huh?" she blinked, staring at him in confusion.

Slightly irritation sparked though his ice eyes, making her flush lightly. He really was quite handsome. His face remained blank, but his eyes told all. But still he was probably an expert at deceiving all around him. She knew he could be quite charismatic if he chose.

"Your palms, Genevieve," he repeated slowly, as though he was speaking with someone mentally slow.

She barely restrained herself from glaring as she sighed, placing her clammy hands out, palms up.

"Evie." she corrected.

He ignored her.

His hands lightly grabbed hers, examining them intently. She barely stopped herself from flinching. It was strange; waves of disgust were rolling off her body. It felt..._wrong. _Why did it feel so wrong? It was as though she wasn't supposed to be touching his hands. It was barely noticeable at first, but the longer he gently held them, the more overwhelming the feeling became. It wasn't a disgusted feeling as in watching someone vomit, but a disgusted _with_ yourself feeling. She felt like she just kicked someone's puppy, and it felt like it was hurting her more deeply.

Right as she was about to snatch her hands from his, he dropped them. Instantly, relief washed over her body for some unknown reason.

"18 years," he sighed, shaking an elegant head. "practically an infant!"

It was then that she noticed his ears with alarm. She'd temporarily ignore him calling her an infant.

"Your ears," she blurted, eyes wide.

"I am a Woodland Elf," he said plainly, his eyes furrowing. "I do not believe you are of this world. We are in Middle earth. What can you tell me of your home, young Genevieve?"

Recognition at his words flashed through her mind for some unknown reason. She felt like she knew this...but what did she know? She blinked, her mind going to what she knew to be HER world. All the tall buildings, the cars, the planes, and the people. But try as she might, she couldn't remember HER life. It was as though it had been erased, and only her knowledge of the world remained. She couldn't remember family, or friends either. Just...nothing. It was blank. Elves did not exist in her world, she knew that. But at the same time, this was so familiar. Like she'd heard it before.

She dug her fingers into her hair. Surely, she'd go insane thinking about it.

Logic would say that she was clearly still in her world. And this dude with the Gwen Stefani hair was just some psycho that had kidnapped her. But deep down, she just knew that wasn't true. It was very, very real. Perhaps _she _was insane?

He was looking at her patiently, his ice eyes observing her every facial change.

"My captain found you unclothed in the woods of Mirkwood," he offered calmly, making her jaw drop. "Have you any indication on how you became to be that way, young mortal?"

Her face reddened deeply.

"YOU SAW ME NAKED?" the, 'I kicked a puppy.' feeling increased tenfold.

His thin lips slightly twitched at her horrified outburst.

"No," he said calmly. "but a captain did. If it pleases you, it was an Elleth who covered you with her cloak before carrying you here. No males looked upon your body of my knowledge."

Evie released a sigh of relief as the feeling went away. Well, she didn't really mind a female seeing her naked. But him, or another guy of his attractiveness...she'd climb in a hole and never come out again.

"My world..." she shook her head, clothing her eyes. "Planes, humans only, cars, computers and smartphones-"

"Enough."

She opened her eyes, seeing him holding up a pale hand.

"Your words make little sense," he said calmly, sighing disappointingly. "I must send word to Galadriel. She shall know where to progress from this point. I will send you to Lothlorien with one of my guard."

Another shock of familiarly struck the young woman.

_'Lothlorien...Galadriel...' _she mused quietly, pulling her mouth into a frown. She...knew, but could not place it for the _life_ of her.

"Quite interesting," he said, snapping her out of her musings as she looked at him with a frown. "I shall send a maid to help you with bathing and dress."

"But-"

The king ignored her completely, exiting the room, his dress billowing quite dramatically behind him.

She glared after him, but her glare stopped as a beautiful woman entered the room. Her hair was jet black, falling down her back in gentle waves. Her blue eyes bright and beautiful as her flawless skin. A silver gown hugged her shapely and perfect body and she glided in the room.

Evie suddenly felt like some kind of gross, she-beast.

"Hello, I am Uranthial," she smiled, reveling a flawless smile. "I shall help with your bath and dressings, my lady."

_'Urine-thial? Jesus.' _Evie couldn't stop her immature side from coming forth as she barely stiffed a giggle, crawling from the bed.

The she-elf gave her a strange look, but apparently decided to just ignore the strange girls strange behavior.

"Nice to meet you..." Evie cleared her throat, smiling cheekily. "I'm Evie."

The she elf nodded, pulling out a long, emerald gown that she eyed with interest as she put it on the bed. The elf walked up to her and yanked the gown over her head without warning.

"Heyy!" Evie exclaimed, going red as she pushed her hair out of her face and crossed her arms across her chest on instinct.

But her exclamation fell on deaf ears as the she-elf stared below her waist, an extremely shocked expression marring her lovely features.

Evie looked down at her naked body, then back up to see the woman still gaping.

"_What_?" she snapped with a little more venom than she intended. But, the lady was _really _making her feel self conscious. Yeah, so what her body wasn't perfect like hers probably was...did she have to stare like that?! Did they not have manners in middle earth?

She almost snorted. Like Gwen Stefani didn't ignore her.

"My lady, where are the hairs of your womanhood?" she asked, looking up at her red face with shock. "you have bosom; you are not a child."

Evie blinked, looking down at her bare crotch before her lip trembled and she roared in laughter, startling the elf that was waiting for her answer.

"I-I'm s-sorry!" Evie choked out between giggles, shaking her head. Just, seeing a woman _that_ shocked at her having removed her pubic hair...was well, _hysterical_. She knew that in her world, it would be opposite. Another women would probably look at her like she was a hairy beast if she _didn't_ have it removed.

"My lady..." the elf said, approaching her with a concerned expression. As though Evie's lack of pubic hair surely meant there was something seriously wrong...and she would die soon.

"No, no, its okay!" Evie said encouragingly, not wanting to scare the beauty. "in my world, women remove their pubic hair. Body hair isn't a thing. I removed it. It's fine."

"Why would you remove your maturity?" the elf gasped, looking horrified at her actions.

"Um..." Evie faltered, feeling awkward. She knew it was a thing in her world, and she knew she had it waxed. How could she know that, though?

Her eyebrows furrowed. She couldn't remember her _life_, but she could remember that she got her pubic hair _waxed_? What the_ hell_ was that? Not that she remembered it actually happened, she just _knew_. What else did she know?

"My lady?"

Evie blinked, looking at the concerned elf holding out her hand, motioning for the door that she supposed led to the bathroom.

"Oh, right!" Evie shook her head, walking towards the room quite awkwardly.

"Men find it appealing and its the same as removing hair from under your arms," Evie explained, hearing the door close behind her as her eyes fell on a large bath in the floor. Steam was coming from the water, and flower petals were across the top of the water. She inhaled, smelling fresh freesia and roses.

"This is lovely," Evie smiled, gingerly stepping into the water as she let her arms fall from her chest.

She sank into the hot water, smiling as it ran over her skin.

"Males desire a hairless female?" the elf asked, making Evie look at her, kneeling beside the tub with a pitcher.

"Oh yeah," Evie shook her messy head. "it does sound pretty disgusting when you put it that way, doesn't it?"

The elf's lips twitched into a smile.

"Quite." she said plainly, dumping the contents of the pitcher over Evie's head and making her splutter as the elf instantly started massaging her hair.

"Je-Jesus!" she spluttered, rubbing the flower scented stuff from her eyes. Amazingly, it didn't burn like shampoo would have.

"I am simply washing your hair, my lady," the elf actually chuckled, scrubbing her hair as Evie sighed, feeling uncomfortable.

She didn't particularly want help with this activity, but she didn't want to offend anyone. What if she told her to leave, would she have been offensive? Evie was an over worrier and after all, they had saved her...she wasn't going to risk rejecting their generosity.

Without warning, the elf dumped another pitcher over head to rinse, making her splutter once again.

Evie groaned. This was going to be a long bath.

_One hour later. _

Evie stared at herself in the mirror, shocked. Her hair was in large, ringlet curls. They fell halfway down her arms, and weren't even frizzy! She had another moment, knowing that her curly hair was a pain in the ass. She knew without a doubt that her hair was a wild beast. And whatever the elf had done, made it sleek and flawless.

If she wasn't so thankful, she'd be pissed off. They didn't even have technology for a cell phone, but they could make her hair perfect? Her world could make amazing things like flying machines, BUT THEY CAN'T TAME FRIZZ?

This was utter madness.

She fumed silently to herself staring at the pretty dress. She decided she didn't look THAT fat in it. It flowed to the ground in whispy emerald green layers. I hugged her body, but wasn't overly tight. The long sleeves were open all the way to her shoulders, and they flowed behind her when she walked.

There was a knock, making her whip around and almost fall as she squeaked for them to enter.

Another, equally beautiful elf with honey chestnut hair walked in, smiling warmly at her. But unlike the other in fancy dress, this one was dressed like...Robin Hood.

She chuckled in her mind.

"Lady Uranthial said you have willingly removed the hair of your womanhood?"

"..."

"Nice to meet you too."

Great, she'd been here...well, she didn't exactly know how long; but she was already known as 'That weird girl with the hairless crotch.'

Fabulous.

"I'm Tauriel," the freckled elf said brightly, her pale green eyes glittering. "I saved you from Mirkwood. I apologize, my curiosity at times controls me."

Evie's eyes widened. "Did you really? Oh, thank you so much! I'm Genevieve. But call me Evie," she said enthusiastically. She really was thankful, even though she didn't know anything, she felt that she would have been doomed if she had not been found...

"It was my pleasure, My Lady," she bowed, giving her a smile. "I've been summoned to bring you to the king. I should hope I am the Captain to send you to Lothlorien. I would much love to visit. Should that suit you?"

"Yes!" Evie said instantly. If the lady saved her, then she felt the safest with her. Also, she'd much rather be in the company alone with a female than a male. Not that she liked women more, far from it. She was just shy and awkward. Being with a beautiful male elf, alone, for three days spun her into awkward girl turmoil.

She grinned cheekily. "I am glad! I shall request the king then!"

She motioned for her to follow her, and she did. She felt slightly uncomfortable, walking down the elegantly beautiful halls. They were all intricately carved wood. In all reality, it was breathtaking.

Her and Tauriel made small talk, as Evie asked various questions about the halls and before she knew it, she was standing in front of the king. He sat with his pointy crown, looking elegant as ever on his throne.

"Lady Genevieve, I have sent word to Galadriel. She said you are a treasure and to be treated with utmost respect until we deliver you to her," he said kindly.

Evie raised her eyebrows, noticing his attitude towards her was much more friendly.

"The Captain that shall escort you is but our own Prince, Legolas," he smiled proudly. "it is a three day journey but there is no other you will be safer with, I assure you."

A guy? His SON? That probably looked like him? She was supposed to be alone, in the company of a handsome _prince_ for three days?

He was wrong, as awkward and shy as she was, that was seriously the MOST unsafe option.

Evie panicked.

"Um, sir, I mean...your majesty," Evie cleared her throat as he raised an eyebrow. What that a fucking snotty elf thing or what? "I was wondering if, um...well, I think I'd prefer Tauriel as my escort-"

"Nonsense!" the king interrupted her quavering voice. "Tauriel is needed here. I assure you, my son is the best option."

Evie opened and closed her mouth a few times, seeing his resolute expression. She glanced over at Tauriel, seeing her head hanging in defeat at her side.

She sighed, forcing a smile on her face as she faced the king.

She heard the doors behind her open, but she did not turn around.

"Ah, here is my son now," the king rose from his thrown, holding his arms out with pride.

* * *

**A/N: If anyone is wondering, her name is pronounced: Jen-Nuh-Veev. I know the first time I saw that name, I was like...uh? But then I loved it xD Well, I'd love to know what you guys think!**


	2. Chapter Two: Imaginary

_Chapter two: Imaginary _

"_Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming  
Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights  
Oh, how I long for the deep sleep dreaming  
The goddess of imaginary light."_

* * *

"_Atar_," she heard a smooth, elegant, yet masculine voice call from behind her. Her body stiffened and her blood raced at the sound. She didn't dare turn, but yet she couldn't hear the foot steps she knew were there.

"_Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie?_"

Swallowing thickly, she looked down, her cheeks flushing.

This seemed to be a little excessive, even for her.

"Westron Legolas," she heard the king chuckle. "she knows not Sindarin."

_'Something tells me I didn't know Westron before today, either' _Evie thought with a confused expression.

"_Aiya_," she heard the beautiful voice say lowly before saying, "please raise your head, young mortal. I cannot see your face if you look upon the ground."

Evie swallowed thickly. Twisting her hands in front of her. Her heart was thumping as she hesitantly raised her big eyes to look to where the voice was coming from.

Her heart dropped, quite literally in her stomach.

He was..._beautiful._ There was literally no other way to describe it.

If she had thought his father was handsome, he was _nothing _compared to his son. She breathed in sharply, watching his steel, blue eyes casually flick over her form. His long, feathery blonde hair fell down onto his muscular shoulders. His face remained expressionless, his perfectly chiseled jaw set and his thin lips in a straight line.

His outfit _really _resembled Robin Hood; especially with the large, long fingered hand that was currently clutching a bow. His tall, lean form was in complete stillness as his intense blue eyes assessed her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking from his blank face, but his eyes conveyed curiosity about her presence.

She wanted to flinch when she felt an air of arrogance come off this Adonis looking man. Not that it was an unjustified arrogance; he could walk around with the cockiest attitude ever and he had the looks to back in up in her opinion.

Unable to meet his steel gaze anymore, she flushed deeply looking off to the side. She saw the female Elves around her staring at him with adoring and swooning eyes, including Uranthial. Well, that settled it. They were probably all super infatuated with him, all wishing to be his princess no doubt. Not the blamed them. At least they had the courage to even look at him. They were only maids and servants, but they were all so perfect and beautiful that Evie felt like a stretched out earth worm next to them.

She was surprised to see that Tauriel was the only one not looking at him. She was looking at the ground with a blank expression.

"What is your name, young one?" she heard Legolas ask, making her eyes widen and snap back to him.

His elegant head was tilted to the side slightly, looking complimentary. An elegant eyebrow was cocked at her.

_'Yeah, definitely a snooty elf thing.'_

"Genevieve," she stuttered, cringing at the way her voice broke as his other eyebrow joined his raised one. "But um, I prefer Evie..."

He studied her form for moments, making her swallow thickly and cast her eyes a little further down. Of course, staring at his slightly broad and lean chest did nothing whatsoever to calm her nerves.

"I am Legolas. It is a pleasure to meet you, _Arwen en amin_," she heard his smooth voice say calmly and smoothly with an elegant grace that Evie knew she could never achieve. And she was the one that was female!

Evie bit her lip nervously, forcing a small smile on her flaming face as she nodded at the prince. Cringing at herself for her idiocy. She really wished he'd stop using his language. The words rolled off his tongue almost sensually, and it was really starting to get under her skin. She already felt like a pathetic fan girl. She didn't know if she could handle that sultry voice for three days straight.

She was so weak.

He inclined his head to her, glancing at his father for moments in question as he waited for him to speak.

"Galadriel said she was important, but does not remember her life," the king said smoothly, his cold eyes flicking towards her for moments as surprise flitted across her face. "I have chosen you to escort her to Lothlorien. You will remain there with her as her protector, until I summon you or Galadriel orders you otherwise. You will also collect all the information on our young guest, as I am much curious about her. Is that understood?"

"_Atar,_" Legolas said in a respectful voice, but she could see the irritation in his blue eyes. She looked down, embarrassed. He didn't want to take her. Of _course_ he didn't. Did he really have to stay there with her? How long would she be there? Would she remain there, or come back here? Would the elleth know how to send her home? She knew that she didn't remember her life, could she also help her remember her life? There were too many questions to voice.

Legolas's voice broke the silence, and although it was in their native tongue, she knew it was a question.

"_Mankoi?"_

"Because my son, she shall be safest with you," the king smiled. "Am I wrong to have the most confidence in your skills?"

"_Amin naa lle nai, Atar,_" Legolas said after a long pause.

Thranduil smiled widely, apparently pleased with his son's answer, whatever that happened to be.

"Your journey shall start at daybreak," Thranduil commanded.

Legolas bowed deeply and respectfully to his father, before turning and walking away, not even sparing her a glance.

"_Khila amin!" _Legolas suddenly bellowed in a commanding voice, making Evie slightly jump as he addressed the other four elves that accompanied him. Funny, she'd just noticed them...when Legolas and his father were in the same room, it was kind of hard to notice anything else. Both of their presences commanded attention.

Evie watched him go with wide eyes, her face flushing. Prince Legolas seemed to be of a more kind nature than that of his father, but she knew that he was also arrogant. He did not want to leave his home and escort her. She could tell that he didn't wish to be in a young mortal woman's company for so long. But he did not object and she could tell that he was very loyal. He was just obeying orders. His curiosity about her was evident, but it was slight.

"Uranthial," the kings voice broke her thoughts. "help Lady Genevieve prepare for her trip."

"My Lord," Tauriel stepped forward in front of the other elf. "I wish that I may help in her stead?"

Thranduil inclined hid head in thought. "Very well. You may assist her, Tauriel."

"Thank you, My Lord," Tauriel bowed to him as he glanced at Evie, nodding before he made his way from the room, his guards and maids following him.

"Why don't we go to the stables and pick you a horse?" Tauriel said with a smile, turning to her.

Evie scratched her arm. "Um, about that...I don't think I know how to ride a horse?"

"Don't worry," Tauriel said kindly, linking their arms. "I'll show you the basics. Prince Legolas will not let you fall."

"O-oh, okay..." she giggled softly, feeling at ease with the elleth that had saved her.

"So, what did you think of the prince?" Tauriel asked as they walked outside and down a green path.

"Well...he's..." Evie trailed off, admiring the greenery and the dark forest that sent chills up her spine.

_'Sexy as hell.'_

"I mean, he seems...nice."

Tauriel let out a pretty laugh.

"He is. Both him and the king rule the people with love, not fear," she smiled. "but I should tell you, Legolas can come off as cold at times, but deep down, he is a caring elf. He is sometimes too honest. Don't let his words hurt you."

"I'd rather go with you," Evie murmured, _not _liking this new information. Not that she was the type to cry if someone called her a butthead, but having that beautiful being insult her...well, that didn't sound very pleasant. Even if it was unintentional.

"You may find good friendship in him, as I have," Tauriel smiled, looking off towards the stables.

Evie looked at her out of the corner of her eye. Should she ask? Oh, the hell with it.

"Is there...more?" Evie asked, raising her eyebrow. Was she in _love_ with Legolas? She shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

Tauriel paused, giving her a surprised expression.

"I..." she frowned. "There was a time where Legolas had feelings for me, actually." Tauriel said quietly.

Evie's heart dropped at her words, a sickness going through her body. Legolas was...in love with her? As she looked down Tauriel, she didn't blame him. In many ways, she was more beautiful than Uranthial. Tauriel had a kindness about her, a gentle nature. Her golden hair, light green eyes, and absolutely adorable dusting of freckles on her face. Not to mention, her perfect body under those manly looking combat clothes. She was strong and beautiful.

Evie knew she could never even begin to compete with her, but from the sound of it, it sounded that she didn't have feelings for him. How she could not at least be _attracted _to Prince Legolas was beyond her.

"It's a long story and I'm afraid we don't have time tonight," she laughed bitterly, sadness piercing her pretty eyes. "I never saw him more than a brother. I loved another."

"Where is he?" Evie asked as they approached a pretty, mahogany colored horse with a shining coat.

"He..." her eyes held great pain. "he died." she finished in a whisper.

Evie let out a horrified gasp. Oh God, _why _did she have to ask?

"Oh! Oh my God – I'm so sorry – I shouldn't have asked, I mean-" Evie blubbered, coming to a halt as Tauriel smiled and held her hand up.

"It is quite alright. You knew not," she smiled, but it was empty. "this horse matches your hair in ways."

Evie blinked, feeling utterly guilty and all around horrible as the elf led the mahogany horse to her.

"He does not have a name," she said smiling. "go on, see if he likes you."

Evie bit her lip, slowly approaching the brown eyed horse. She raised a shaky hand, lightly touching its face. The horses eyes widened a little, alarming Evie before they went back to normal. She giggled as the horse started sloppily licking her hand.

"An elvish horse loves you so readily," Tauriel said kindly, smiling as she rubbed his neck. "you have a kind soul. _Vanimle sila tiri_."

"What does that mean?" Evie smiled, petting 'her' horse that was currently bumping its nose into her. She felt comfortable asking Tauriel what things were in elvish. She really wanted to know what Legolas had said in the throne room, but she forced herself to refrain from asking.

"Your beauty shines bright. Your soul," Tauriel smiled, making Evie flush slightly as the horse nuzzled her face. "what shall you name him?"

Evie thought for moments, petting her new friends mane lovingly. The horse eased into her touch, briefly reminding her of a cat or something similar. It was a bit unusual. She wanted to give him a name from her world, that was for sure. Not that she knew any names in this world anyone. Well, except the ones she already met. She didn't think it would be well received if she named her horse Legolas.

"Sebastian," Evie nodded. "Do you like the name?" she asked in a baby voice to the horse, patting his neck.

The horse neighed, surprising Evie as Tauriel laughed at her dumbfounded expression.

"Elvish horses are quite intelligent," she chuckled. "I do believe he likes Sebastian. You have the most beautifully unique names...Evie."

"Thank God, you're the only one to listen to me so far!" Evie grumbled, smiling as Tauriel laughed.

She walked to the stable and picked up a saddle, showing Evie how to fasten it around Sebastian safely.

"Now that he's chosen you, he will only ever carry you," Tauriel smiled. "Of course, unless you order him to carry another, he will be loyal to only you. He has chosen you."

Evie raised her eyebrows in surprise. Wow, that was actually really neat! These horses were definitely more intelligent than the horses from her world. Maybe the friendly horse would make her three day trip more bearable. At least she didn't have to walk.

"I'll help you mount him," Tauriel beckoned her to his side.

Evie felt nervous, walking over.

"Grab the saddle and hoist yourself up," Tauriel explained, putting her hands on the appropriate parts.

"Um...okay..." Evie felt a feeling of dread.

"Urrrgghh..." she groaned, trying to hoist herself up on the saddle pathetically. She wasn't aware she was so physically weak. Sebastian bristled as she held on, trying to clamber on top of him awkwardly.

She could hear Tauriel trying to stifle laughter behind her.

"Uuurrrgggh-uuuuurrrr," Evie made more unladylike noises and she struggled. She managed to hoist herself across the horse. Her head hanging off one side and her feet on the other. The long dress surely wasn't making it much easier. This was bullshit; she needed pants. Clearly, she wasn't a warrior elf, so they had given her lady clothes. No, she needed _mens_ clothes or something.

After about five more minutes of struggle, she finally managed to get up and straddle the saddle, her dress being pushed up to her thighs as the elegant slippers showed.

"I did it!" Evie smiled, looking at Tauriel who was outright laughing now.

"My lady, that is quite inappropriate. You should pull your dress down," Tauriel chuckled as Evie shrugged. They were just legs.

Tauriel shook her head and began leading Sebastian around the grass, giving her tips on how to not fall off. Eventually, Evie even managed to ride him in a slow gallop. Of course, she couldn't get up on him worth a damn, but once she was there, she did alright..._amazingly_.

"I really wish you could go," Evie frowned down at Tauriel, feeling comfortable.

_'Only if Legolas doesn't go.' _her mind chirped in, surprising her. Seriously? So _what_ if the guy was hot? That was _all_. She buried the feelings of hurt when Tauriel had said that he had feelings for her. It made her sound _insane_ in her own mind, so she'd prefer to pretend it did NOT happen.

"I as well," Tauriel sighed, looking down. "ever since Thranduil banished me and then accepted me back, I've regretted returning," she sighed. "I just didn't know what else to do with my love gone...I felt a break would be beneficial. But, he is no fool. He knew that's what I wanted. I could scream of frustration."

"I wanna scream and shout, and let all out. And scream and shout and let it out. We saying ohhhhhh we ohhh we ohhhhh we ohhhhhh," Evie joke sang, feeling seriously awkward and trying to cheer the elleth up.

Tauriel gave her a shocked expression as Evie gave her a crooked smile.

"it's a song...where I'm from," Evie pointed out. "I thought maybe it would cheer you up...but now I'm thinking _I _didn't even like that song."

Tauriel chuckled, shaking her head. "You are quite the oddity. But you were correct, that shocked me and cheered me up at the same time."

Evie gave the elf a smile as she struggled much less to actually get off the horse. They led him back to the stable, feeding him some oats as Evie said her goodbyes.

"Come, we need to pack a few items for the trip," Tauriel said, holding onto her arm. "when you reach Lothlorien, the elves there will supply you with all your needs."

"Your people are very generous..." Evie said quietly, feeling a little overwhelmed. "I feel like such a burden." she finally admitted dejectedly. The whole ordeal with the prince had really brought her down. After all, it wasn't everyday someone inconvenienced a damn _prince_.

"I beg of you, do not feel that way," Tauriel said worriedly. "you come from another world, that has never happened before. Not to our knowledge, anyway. You are special and unique. You merit care to be something so astounding."

"Tell Prince Legolas that," Evie muttered, but elves must have superior hearing, as she heard her sigh.

"As I said, he can appear cold and maybe even selfish-"

"He's a_ prince_, of _course _hes an ass. He's entitled to it," Evie chuckled, saying what Tauriel was trying to say in more words.

Tauriel shook her head, laughing in agreement. "Yes, that is true. He is good, but he is not my mate, nor I his. Deep down, he knows that."

"Mate?" Evie asked, raising an eyebrow and her curiosity was piqued.

"Nothing is so cruel to make anything spend an eternity alone," she whispered, giving her a small smile.

"So...all elves have a mate?" Evie asked as the approached her room. "how does that work?"

Tauriel frowned, walking up the wardrobe and opening it, shocking Evie when she saw many dresses inside.

"It...is complicated," Tauriel said. "the female usually feels it much more strongly than the male...well, in the beginning. Afterwards, its actually the male that feels it the strongest. It just takes them longer. Usually because females can be more emotional-"

Evie barely restrained herself from calling that sexist.

"-but yes, once the bond is recognized...that is the only one the elf will love for all of their existence," she smiled. "it doesn't mean you didn't love others before, but it is a love like no other. And without them, it does not exist. I pray everyday that I will find my mate."

"The...the one you lost," Evie whispered. "he...he wasn't your mate?"

Tauriel frowned. "No, he was not. He was a dwarf, not that elves cannot mate outside race. It IS possible, but rare," she smiled. "it also doesn't mean that what I had with him wasn't real. I was in love with him, but I know he was not my mate. If he had been, I wouldn't have been able to leave when he asked me to go with him..." she said softly.

Evie bristled, feeling sad for her new friend. Mate or not, she couldn't imagine...

"I also worried," she said, frowning. "I knew he was not my true mate, and if I had found my true mate...I would have left him. It wouldn't be my fault, but no other race mates as strongly as elves. I did not want to hurt him, because I _did_ love him. It was a risk I wasn't sure I wanted to take."

"He loved you, didn't he?" Evie asked quietly.

"...yes, he did," Tauriel looked on the brink of tears.

"Then do not feel guilt," Evie smiled. "it did not come to pass, but if it was true, he would _not_ regret one moment spent in your presence. It is better to have loved and lost, than not to have loved at all..."

Tauriel looked at her with wide eyes, looking thoughtful.

"You are...very wise," she blinked. "those words, they are beautiful and you are right."

"Don't give me too much credit," Evie chuckled. "Those are words from my world; not mine."

"But here in this world, they are yours," Tauriel said quietly, smiling as she turned to remove clothing from the wardrobe.

"I shall write Harry Potter," Evie nodded. "I could do it, ya know?"

"Harry Potter?" Tauriel asked, looking confused as she placed various items in a bag.

"Oh, its a really famous and amazing book series," Evie nodded. "its one of my favorites. I know there's another one, but...I cannot place the name."

* * *

_Atar_\- Father

_Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie?_ – Do you speak elvish?

_Arwen en amin__\- _My Lady (non familiar)

_Aiya__\- _Oh

_Mankoi_-Why?

_Amin naa lle nai, Atar__\- _I am yours to command, father

_Khila amin__\- _Follow me

_Vanimle sila tiri__\- _Your beauty shines bright


	3. Chapter Three: Words as Weapons

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, or any recognize material. I make no profit from this whatsoever.**_

_**Chapter Three: Words as Weapons **_

* * *

_**"Say can you help me right before the fall**_

_**Take what you can and leave me to the wolves**_

_**All I really want is something beautiful to say**_  
_**Keep me guessing, keep me terrified**_

_**All I really want is something beautiful to say**_  
_**You keep living in your own lie**_

_**All I really want is something beautiful to say**_  
_**To never fade away, I wanna live forever."**_

* * *

Evie and Tauriel spent half the night packing and talking about various subjects. Evie tried to explain martial arts, TV, and her music to her. She was sure she made no sense, but the elf seemed enraptured nonetheless.

Now, Evie lay in bed, fretting over the morning. What if she embarrassed herself in front of the prince? Actually, that was almost an idiotic question. Of course she would. But the question is: how severely? She really should just keep her mouth shut. In the end, that seemed to be the best course of action...just keep her big, stupid mouth shut the entire journey and only speak when spoken to. Yes, that was the perfect way to try to avoid anything embarrassing. She didn't want to annoy him – already, she felt, no _knew_ that she was inconveniencing him. That bothered her more than anything.

She had no idea what time she fell asleep, but she welcomed it with open arms.

"Lady Genevieve, it is time to rise. Breakfast awaits."

Evie's eyes squinted open, seeing Uranthial pulling back her blankets.

"_Fuck_, I just closed my eyes like two seconds ago!" Evie groaned, rubbing her eyes. She knew that wasn't true. She'd at least slept a _few _hours, but God, it didn't feel like it.

"I'll help you with bath and dressings My lady," Uranthial said, ignoring her little pissy spat and helping her from the comfortable feather bed.

Evie felt like a zombie as Uranthial bathed her and dressed her in a feminine dark green dress, with elegant green slippers that looked more for walking. The dress also stretched more than the other had, so Evie assumed it was for traveling. She desperately wanted to just ask for pants, but she didn't want to cause anyone any problems. They were already doing so much for her; she didn't want to make them go out of their way or be picky about their generosity. So, she'd wear the dresses. Perhaps one day she'd speak up.

She yawned as Uranthial fixed her hair into an elegant, high pony tail. Once again, her curls were sleek as they fell down her back from the pony tail.

She was too sleepy to feel the injustice. She zombie followed Uranthial from her room to the dining hall. She and Tauriel had ate in her room the night before and it was nice. This was the first time she had ate with the other elves.

As she walked in and saw the vertical, long tables with one horizontal at the top, she was oddly reminded of Hogwarts. Only few elves were there, but the king was included.

"You shall sit with the king," Uranthial led her to the table at the top, where King Thranduil sat elegantly eating.

Her eyes flicked around at the various elves around the hall. The sun wasn't up yet, so there were not very many. She noted with a sigh of relief that the Prince Legolas was not among them.

"Sit, Lady Genevieve," the King motioned to the chair on his left.

"Yes...your majesty," she said hurriedly, walking around the table to sit on his left.

Her stomach growled and she instantly went for the breads that she saw at the table. She noticed with a frown there was no meats, either. She'd noticed that last night.

"Elves do not eat meat," Thranduil said causally, as though he noticed her frown. "if you so wish it, on your journey, Legolas can kill for meat."

"No!" she exclaimed with a full mouth, making the king raise his eyebrow in amusement as she swallowed. "I mean, no thank you...I-I do not want to i-inconvenience prince L-Legolas..."

She turned away sharply at the knowing look on the king's face as she took a sip of sweet juice.

"As you wish," the king said simply. "Legolas is preparing for the journey now. Since he does not know how long he will be absent, he has affairs to sort."

Evie poked at her porridge with a frown. She hoped that it didn't cause too many problems for him...

The king continued speaking of his kingdom, and Evie listened with mild interest. He was talking about the woods and spiders, which wasn't too terribly interesting. Perhaps it wasn't because she hated spiders and she was getting ready to go into the same forest! Did he really have to talk about that right now? But when he mentioned their customs, people, or even a certain Prince, her ears perked up so much she could be considered an Elf herself.

"Are you finished?" the King suddenly asked as she sat her spoon down. "if so, I will escort you to the gates to meet Legolas."

"Y-yes," Evie spluttered, standing abruptly after the king and following him out of the hall.

In the distance, she could make out two horses, with a certain blonde prince standing in between, holding both of the reigns. Both horses had bags, and she knew it must be their supplies. She could see that Legolas was all decked out in battle gear.

She looked down at the ground, like the coward she was.

Was she going to get to say goodbye to Tauriel?

"Good morning, Lady Genevieve."

Evie breathed in sharply, raising her head reluctantly to meet the piercing blue eyes. He had a small smile on his handsome features, making her heart flutter annoyingly.

"Good morning, your highness," she said quietly, returning his small smile.

His smile broadened slightly, revealing perfect, straight and white teeth.

"Ah, yes Tauriel," King Thranduil said, making Evie almost jump and whip her head around to see Tauriel standing beside her, holding a mass of silver cloth with the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen sitting on top.

"These are your parting gifts," Kind Thranduil smiled as Evie's mouth dropped. "made from the finest cloth and one of the finest necklaces you will ever see. Both made right here."

"B-but s-sir!" Evie exclaimed blinking. "I couldn't possibly – you have done so much; I am thankful. There's no need; I have-"

Evie immediately shut up when the King held his hand up with a smile.

"Nonsense! We treat our guests finely. You are the first visitor from another world. I am honored that it was my people who found you," he smiled. "Now, turn around child."

Evie blinked, but did as the king commanded. She jumped slightly when she felt the string of diamonds fall across her neck. She reached her small hand up to finger at them as they glowed in the light beautifully. She felt something else snap across her shoulders, and saw that it was the silver robe.

She hesitantly turned around, feeling all eyes on her. Tauriel's eyes were glowing, and Thranduil looked mildly impressed. She didn't dare look at the Prince, but boy, could she _feel_ his piercing stare.

"Well, you could almost pass for an elleth," the King commented.

"Almost, not quite," Evie chuckled, seeing an amused smile curl the King's lips. "thank you so much—for everything."

The King inclined his head as she faced Tauriel. She couldn't help herself—she threw herself in the arms of the elleth. She didn't like to think she'd never see her again. She felt as though they had connected with each other quite well. They could be best friends, Evie was sure of it.

Tauriel seemed to tense at the young mortals arms around her, likely in surprise more than anything else. But she relaxed, softly wrapping her arms around her in return. She felt the Elf chuckle.

"Don't despair Evie, we will see each other again," Tauriel encouraged as she pulled away, smiling at her. Evie returned her smile and walked with her up to Sebastian, who contrasted pretty dramatically against Legola's white horse.

"Hope we don't have to leave soon..." Evie muttered bitterly, sighed as she grabbed the saddle. She wasn't exactly in the mood to embarrass herself in front of the Prince already, but what choice did she have?

He horse huffed and Evie's eyes widened as Sebastian got down on his haunches, practically laying on the ground for her. It was clear the horse didn't want to see her struggle to awkwardly clamber on top of him again.

She looked over at the King, who had a shocked look on his face as Tauriel broke face and busted into giggles.

"He knows you so well—already!" Tauriel laughed. "He loves her, my Lord."

"I can see," the King chuckled. "that is rare, even I will say so."

Evie's face scrunched up and she pursed her lips, looking over at the Prince.

His blue eyes were glittering in humor, a smirk plastered on his regal face. Her heart skipped at beat before she forced herself to look down at her kneeling horse.

"Thanks buddy," she shook her head, easily sliding a leg over the saddle.

She let out a small gasp as the horse instantly lifted in the air, raising her up somewhat wobbly.

She knew she looked so _graceful_ at that moment. Even the horse was tired of her being pathetic.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as Legolas mounted his horse in one swift motion. She tried not to stare, she really did. Her eyes discreetly traveled down his tall form. Her eyes lingered on his green leggings under the brown tunic, seeing a muscular thigh against the side of his horse.

Tauriel distracted her before she had the chance to drool. She shook her head.

"Prince, she is not a strong rider," Tauriel informed him, making Evie blush fiercely as he looked over at her with a thoughtful expression. "Please...keep her safe..."

"_Manka lle merna, mellonamin._" he responded, inclining his head towards Tauriel. "_Quel esta, Nikerym._"

Tauriel gave a thankful nod to him, patting his horse as she approached Evie.

"Take care of her," she told the horse, rubbing his neck.

"Aren't you going to tell me to take care of myself?" Evie asked, raising an eyebrow. "or are you going to tell a tree before me?"

Tauriel gave her a sly smirk, which Evie returned as she chuckled.

"Take care of yourself," she said half seriously.

Evie looked around to thank the King again, only to find he was gone. She frowned and looked at the Prince, seeing his blue eyes fixed on the sun rising over the horizon past the forest. Did he not even say farewell to his son?

"Daybreak. We should ride," Legolas said calmly, looking over at Evie as she shyly met his gaze. "the sooner we break from the forest, the better."

"_Rima!_" Legolas commanded his horse sternly, not waiting for Evie to respond as his horse raised his front legs with an neigh and took off galloping at a medium pace. It was like a dramatic cut scene from a movie or something.

"Here," Tauriel said, shoving something in her bag.

"What-"

"_Rima, Sebastian!_"

"Eeek!" Evie gasped as Tauriel patted her horses rear quarters, causing him to take off in a medium gallop after Legola's horse.

Evie's heart raced and she leaned forward on instinct holding onto the horses neck for more stability. Her horse was smaller than Legola's, but man, he could _move_. Before she knew it, she was neck and neck with him, with the horses galloping in unison.

She looked over at him, seeing his blonde hair billowing behind him as he stared seriously towards the forest that was quickly approaching. The intricate braids around his head remained perfectly intact, where as Evie knew—too much of this, and she would have a huge bush on her head. Sure, the elves were amazing with hair, but hers needed a miracle worker. She couldn't _wait_ for the prince to see that sight.

Evie gulped, going against her judgment and slowly raising up from Sebastian, holding the reigns as she bounced on the saddle.

_'This saddle is close to taking my virginity.' _

She glanced over at him, seeing that he was barely bouncing on his horse, as she was practically getting thrown in the air with each gallop.

"I will not be able to ride throughout the forest," he suddenly said, making her heart jump. "you must stay very close to my person. It is very dangerous. Do you understand?"

Evie swallowed thickly. "Yes, Prince Legolas." she answered timidly.

He looked over at her as they slowed and approached the edge of the forest. She tried her best to look ahead, feeling his stare plastered to the side of her face, but she couldn't help it when her face turned to see him staring at her with a contemplative expression. What was he thinking? Probably how annoyed he was, no doubt.

"I am surprised," he said suddenly, breaking the silence and making Evie jump slightly. "you speak much with Tauriel, my father even-" he grinned slyly towards her, making her heart race. "-but with me, you seem to lose most all ability to speak. Do you simply hate my presence? And if not, why is that, my Lady?"

"No!"

Her eyes widened at his cocky stare, making her look away and flush deeply. She knew why, she was just..._really_ attracted to him. She felt like she was in the company of Brad Pitt – except way worse. She was an awkward girl, and she didn't know how to handle it! That, and she felt guilty for burdening him...

"I feel..." she swallowed, seeing him dismount his horse next to her. "guilty."

She saw him pause in her peripherals, making her look at him. He was holding his horses reigns with his head tilted, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Guilty? For what, my Lady?" he asked after a pause, clearly unable to figure it out for himself. She could see in his bright eyes that he didn't like that he didn't know what she meant. She would go out on the limb and assume it didn't happen to him very often.

"I..." she bit her lip and looked down at her saddle. "I know...that you do not want to escort me. I don't blame you. I just-" she looked up, but not at him. "-I didn't mean to be here or for this to happen. I-I don't remember my life and I'm afraid—but I don't want to inconvenience a Prince, no less. I'm sure you have many more important responsibilities...which is why I asked your father if Tauriel could take me instead."

She took a deep breath after her rant, only to be met with silence. Well, it was half true. The other half was the whole she's awkward around attractive men thing, but he didn't need to know that part. His head was already big enough as it was. She awkwardly stoked the mane of Sebastian, silently criticizing herself for speaking so much. He probably thought of her as a _whining_ burden now.

"It is my honor to escort you, young one," Legolas suddenly said in a quiet voice, making her head whip around to look at him. "There is no need for guilt to be felt."

He was giving her a perfect smile, but his gaze was different. It was more friendly...more _respectful_. He held more respect for her now? She supposed she hadn't made that good of a first impression on him...refusing to look at him, or barely speaking to him. Perhaps that was why he was annoyed? She cringed at the thought, because it wasn't that way _at all_. Yet, his gaze just looked more understanding. As though he'd been trying to figure her out, but now it made sense. She hadn't been quiet out of being unfriendly, or trying to escape his presence out of bitchiness. It seemed he was looking at her in a new light.

She managed a small smile. "Let's see if you still feel that way after dealing with me for three days."

He threw his head back lightly, letting out a deep chuckle that made her eyes widen as she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. _Why _was this happening? Sure, he was handsome _and_ polite—maybe a _little_ cocky—but, she had a feeling that this hadn't happened before. Sure, she knew that she was the type to get awkward around cute guys, but there was something different about this. She knew from the beginning; from the moment his father mentioned him...for some reason, something _struck_ inside her—before she'd even _seen_ him. Wasn't that strange? She saw his father before him, and he had been polite, well, less than Legolas—but he was handsome in the extreme as well. She hadn't felt that way; not even close. _What _was it about Legolas that did that to her? A part of her _hated_ it. It may also be why she had wanted to avoid him. These..._feelings_ or whatever; were _freaking_ her the fuck out. She didn't like feeling like she wasn't in control. She was no fool. If she thought there was a chance on this planet—or _any_ planet for that matter—that he'd actually be attracted to her in _some _way, things _may_ be different. She knew who she was – and she knew her limitations. Of course, she didn't think she was ugly, but she was no beauty like the elves. Even if he_ wasn't_ drop dead gorgeous; he's still a _prince_. He was so far out of her league, she couldn't even laugh about it – she didn't listen to the King _that _much this morning, but she was pretty sure he didn't tell her hell had frozen over. She'd have better luck trying to steal Brad Pitt from fucking Angelina Jolie.

"I believe I can tolerate your company for three days, My lady," Legolas smiled, walking up to her and holding out his hand.

She stared at his hand, perplexed.

"..."

He chuckled deeply again at her expression.

"Your reigns," he smiled. "I need them to lead the horses."

"Oh!" she shook her head, feeling idiotic. It had flashed through her mind that she wanted her to put her hand in his.

_Fat fucking chance. _

She shakily dropped the reigns in his pale hands and he smiled at her as he walked in front.

"Do not get down unless I tell you too," he turned towards her, warning is his blue eyes and his expression serious.

She nodded quickly, her curls bouncing around her face. He looked at her for moments before turning and pulling the reigns, only to stop when Sebastian didn't move.

"..."

The horse started backing up, looking at the forest with wary eyes. He didn't want to take his mistress in there, that was for sure.

"uhhhh...its okay, Sebby," Evie said, patting Sebastian on the head as he neighed worriedly.

Legolas didn't speak, but looked at the horse with fond eyes as he ran his hand down his face gently.

"How he already adores you," Legolas smiled, looking up at her. "he's trying to protect you."

"_Dina, mellon,_" Legolas said smoothly, looking the horse in the eye. "_Khila min, Lirimaer. _Your prince will protect her." he finished calmly in Westron, probably for her benefit more than anything.

Could he sense her nerves spike at the horse acting this way?

Her heart fluttered. "He will listen to you, not others, because you are a prince?" she asked thoughtfully as he looked up at her with a smile.

"He will, unless you object," his smile broadened. "I may be his Prince—but to him, you are his queen and much more important than I."

Evie felt her heart warm at his words, smiling down and petting Sebastian's mane lovingly. A queen, huh? Even if it was horse, she'd take being a queen.

"Tauriel is quite taken with you as well," Legolas commented, turning before she could see his face. This time when he pulled the reigns, Sebastian followed, albeit hesitantly.

"Yes...she saved me," Evie said smiling. "I believe that started our connection, and not just because she saw me naked. She is my friend."

"...yes, I have not seen her laugh such as that in many years," Legolas said quietly, making Evie's heart quiver, unknown to him. She knew what those words meant. Use to have feelings huh? No, they were still there. He had just proven it. But Tauriel assured that she wasn't his mate. One day, he'd find his beautiful elf mate, and they'd-

_'Stop torturing yourself. You masochist.' _

"Even my father seemed to take pity on you, which he does not do much outside of our people."

"I don't want pity," Evie said with more venom that she had intended as he led them into darkness. She didn't care though, her blood was still thrumming from his words. She forced herself to take a deep breath as she looked around the mossy, dark woods. There wasn't a single sound, except for them, which made her a little nervous; what parts that weren't unjustly irritated.

To her surprise, Legolas chuckled. "such spirit you have, young one. I can see why they like you."

She glared at the back of his perfect head. Mad at herself—that his words flattered her more than they should have.

"If you knew how to fight, you could be quite the force to be reckoned with."

"How do you know I can't fight?" she huffed, putting her hands on her hips in irritation. NOW, she saw what Tauriel meant.

"You cannot mount a horse." he said simply, as though that explained everything.

"Doesn't mean I couldn't claw your eyes out," she muttered under her breath, jumping in surprise when she saw his elegant head lean back, laughing briefly.

"We elves have superior hearing, so I heard your words," he chuckled. "I suppose you are right; should I fear you?"

"You should be shaking in your boots," she said sarcastically, as she looked at the small path he was leading them on. She felt as though their playful banter was for her sake, as she saw he was very alert, his head darting occasionally to observe something in the distance.

He laughed once more. "_Aiya,_" he chuckled. "I assure you, I am—_Arwenamin_."

Evie bit her lip, her face flushing. Not only was he handsome and polite...he wasn't a stick in the mud. He was _funny _and playful. Could anyone get more appealing at the beginning? She wasn't sure it was possible.

He suddenly stopped, dropping the reigns. Quicker than lightning, he had pulled his bow and arrow out, pointing it towards some cobweb covered bushes in the distance.

Evie's heart jumped violently in panic, even though her human eyes couldn't see shit.

"We are not alone."

_Manka lle merna, mellonami__n- _If you wish, my friend

_Quel esta, Nikerym__\- _Rest well, captain

_Dina, mellon__\- _Be silent, friend

_Khila min, Lirimaer__\- _Follow me, loyal one

_Aiya__\- _oh

_Arwenamin__\- _My lady (familiar)


	4. Chapter Four: Slide

**_Chapter Four: Slide_**

"_Put your arms around me  
What you feel is what you are  
And what you are is beautiful  
Oh, May  
Do you wanna get married or run away?_

_And I'll do anything you ever dreamed to be complete_  
_Little pieces of the nothing that fall_

_I wanna wake up where you are  
I won't say anything."_

* * *

"Alone? What?" Evie asked, slightly panicked as her green eyes darted around.

Legolas let his arrow go, her eyes not even being able to process what was happening. She heard a horrible squeal coming from the bushes, as her head whipped around – slightly horrified.

"the fuck?" she exclaimed without thinking. Was it spiders? Her skin crawled as Sebastian bristled underneath her.

"It was alone," Legolas said, sliding his bow back on his back. "probably a baby that wandered from his nest. The others will come to look for it, we need to make haste."

"What was a baby?" she squeaked as Legolas jumped on his horse in one swift motion.

"I did not want to draw attention to ourselves with galloping, but it seems it is now the best choice," he said, his alert eyes darting around the forest.

He tapped the side of his horse with his heel, and it took off. To her jolt of surprise, Sebastian also immediately went into a gallop at his side and keeping pace easily with Legola's white horse.

Her heart was thumping as she darted her head to the side, swearing she saw something move past the trees. No, it was okay. If she had seen something, Legolas would have noticed it before her. His eyesight was much more advanced than hers, she was sure.

She breathed deeply, looking at Legolas to see a stern look on his face. His thin lips pressed into a hard line as he stared ahead, his elf ears sticking out of his hair that was _still _perfect.

_'Now is not a time to think of his hair!' _

Sebastian suddenly came to a halt, making Evie scream as he stood up on his back legs, neighing loudly as a spider—_a__ spider _the size of a _man_, ugly and black in color, darted in front of them. It was snapping at his legs, looking as though it was getting ready to pounce on them both.

Evie screamed again when her eyes fell on the terrifying creature, holding on with dear life as Sebastian bucked backwards.

An arrow instantly shot through its head, making it drop to the ground – dead. Evie saw Legolas jump off a log, elegantly, shooting another arrow behind her as she whipped her head around, seeing another spider that had been creeping up on her, drop with a squeal to the ground.

She gulped in fear as arrows shot in all directions, making her gasp in fright as she heard dying squeals from all around her. She felt so useless that the only thing she could do was sit terrified while a Prince expertly killed the monsters. Legolas moved swiftly and confidently, pulling a blade from his back, spinning around and beheading two spiders on her right.

He moved so fast that her human eyes could barely keep up.

Before she knew what was happening, she felt his body heat as he swiftly slid onto the saddle behind her. She froze completely as his arms reached around her, grabbing the reigns. She may have fainted at his body molding into her back if it wasn't for the fact that she was _completely_ terrified.

"_Rima ten'ta!_" Legolas yelled at Sebastian, making the horse take off in a gallop that was much faster than their previous one. She did not see Legola's horse, so she assumed he sent him ahead, or maybe even back. Clearly, they needed to make a quick getaway, and he knew that she was not a strong enough rider to keep up. Even if she was, she could not defend herself.

She knew it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help it when the feeling of uselessness rose in her once again; mixing with her terror.

Evie gasped in fear at the fast speed. Legolas freed one hand, wrapping one muscular arm around her waist to keep her in place as they galloped—full speed through the forest.

Evie was breathing heavily now. She wasn't sure what was doing it—the pure panic, or the fact that Legolas muscular body was _embracing _her – causing tingles to travel all down her body. He wasn't even touching her skin, but she had a feeling that if he _had_ been, she was have completely melted into a puddle of goo – then she wouldn't have to worry about getting eaten by spiders.

"_Uuma dela_, Genevieve," she heard Legolas whisper near her ear, feeling his arm slightly tighten around her waist – clearly, he could feel her absolute fear. He was showing her that he had her, and that she would be alright; he was promising it. Even though she didn't know elvish, the sensual words comforted her more than if he would have said, "It will be alright."

He must know that. It took all her willpower not to lean back into his embrace. She was as stiff as a statue, except for her chest rapidly rising and falling – she was practically hyperventilating.

Now was a _bad_ time to remember her slight muffin top.

She cringed to herself as she began to feel more and more safe in his embrace. While the fear was dissipating, other feelings were coming forward.

Could he feel her belly fat jiggling? Oh God, her _thighs_.

She swallowed, her breathing going from hyperventilating to shallow breaths, becoming super aware of his body. She could feel his muscular thighs pressing into the back of hers—his muscular chest and abdomen against her back...his strong arm wrapped protectively around her.

This was what dreams were made of. She wondered if his body was tingling the same way hers was?

_'What—wait—no, are you fucking stupid? Of course it isn't.' _

She tried to breathe deeply, trying to ignore the feeling of his chest rubbing into her with every gallop from Sebastian.

She needed a distraction.

"Where-" she squeaked, cringing at her voice as she cleared her throat to try again. "w-where is y-your h-horse?"

"I sent Rohden ahead," he answered quietly near her ear, making an involuntary shiver pass through her body – one she prayed he did _not_ notice. And if he did, that he didn't connect it to his voice.

"We should break the trees soon," he continued. "the creatures are far behind us, but it is not wise to slow now. Do not worry, Lady Genevieve, you are safe with me."

"E-evie," she blurted in a high pitched voice. After all, he was molded to her body. She was pretty sure they could drop the formalities.

He was quiet for moments. "Legolas."

"B-but you're a – eek!" she made an embarrassing gasp as Sebastian lept over a large log, hearing the Prince chuckle deeply in her ear. "P-prince!"

"I do not always wish to be treated as such," he said in the same sultry voice. But then again, it probably just sounded that way because she was overheated at the moment. "It is true it is improper to address a Prince that way, unless given permission. Which I have just given you. You may call me by my given name."

"I'll try," she breathed, biting her lip when she heard her voice come out slightly sultry.

_'Fuck!'_ she thought to herself, clearing her throat. _'Damage control!' _

"I c-can't promise anything. I'm stubborn," she laughed awkwardly. If she wasn't clutching Sebastian's mane with a death grip, she'd slap herself in the forehead.

He was quiet for moments, making her panic. _Shit,_ did he notice the tone in her voice? She felt him shift behind her and her eyes widened. Did she say something wrong?

"I shall await then," he finally said quietly.

She was _losing_ her fucking _mind—_it was final. Her body thrummed as she saw the sun in the distance. She could barely make out the end of the forest.

She was thankful, but at the same time, she never wanted this gallop to end. She enjoyed his body against hers – probably _too_ much, and she never wanted him to let go. Not being an idiot, she knew this meant nothing to him. There was no tingles up his spine—or down his body. He wasn't burning wherever he touched her. His body wasn't responding to her the way hers was eagerly responding to him. Of course, she had thought his voice sounded kind of husky, but she thought that in general. She was probably imagining it, and even if she wasn't, she was sure it had _nothing _to do with her.

She tried to concentrate as she felt the hand that was clutching her dress at her side relax. He spread his large hand out, gently cupping her hip as he held her down.

She breathed in sharply as fire shot from his touch, making her body flush. She..._what_ was happening? Why did she feel like that? She knew without a doubt that this was the single most intimate moment of her entire life...and that was just _sad_. Nothing was even happening! But her body was on fire from being so close to him.

Here he was, protecting her, and she was getting all pervy on him. She almost felt disgusted with herself. Deep down, she knew she couldn't help it...but still, it _didn't _make it right.

"Sing me a song from your world," he said quietly, making her jolt in shock. What?

"What?" she blubbered stupidly. If he was _trying_ to distract her, it was working.

"You heard me," he chuckled lowly. "I wish to hear a song from your world."

"I can't sing."

"I will not judge you."

"I'll judge me," she said quietly, cringing. She literally couldn't do anything, especially sing. She felt like everything she did, down to how she looked was simply – mediocre. And she was fine with that, but around him, it was suddenly not good enough for her.

"Sing me a song you like. I will enjoy it," he said encouragingly. She blinked, knowing already that she'd do it. Was she_ really_ going to sing for him? He'd made a request, and she couldn't...deny him. It wasn't even an option. Every fiber of her being said: "do it, do whatever you can to please him."

So, she started singing the first song that came to her mind.

"_And I'd give up forever to touch you  
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't wanna go home right now_

And all I can taste is this moment  
And all I can breathe is your life  
When sooner or later it's over  
I just don't wanna miss you tonight..."

She swallowed thickly as he was silent behind her. It didn't sound horrible, but it didn't sound amazing, either. For some reason unknown to her, she continued.

"_...And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am..."_

She paused, not sure if she should continue or not. The end of the forest was approaching them. She blushed furiously, hoping he didn't think badly of one of her favorite songs.

"Please, continue Evie," he suddenly said quietly, making her eyes widen in surprise. "I know that is not the end – I am enjoying it."

Once again, it didn't even occur to her to deny him. He'd saved her from being eaten, and hey, if he wanted her to sing off key for him...she could do that.

"_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
Or the moment of truth in your lies  
When everything feels like the movies  
Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive_

And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am..."

He was silent as they broke free of the forest, crossing the final trees into a large, open meadow. Evie's eyes had become custom to the dark and she squinted, bringing up one hand to rub her eyes.

"You have a sweet voice," Legolas said quietly, making her heart leap in her chest. "even if it is slightly broken."

Her flattery dwindled.

"Fine, I won't sing again," she huffed, crossing her arms and blushing. Tauriel definitely had a point. He was too fucking honest!

"That is unfortunate, I would much like to hear more songs of your world," Legolas chuckled as he pulled the reins, making her frown as he let go of her hip as their pace slowed.

"Maybe if I get drunk first," Evie mumbled, as he chuckled. She felt a small sense of loss since he moved his hand.

"Rohden will be waiting at our camp for the night," he said from behind her, making her heart uplift. So, she got to ride with him for the entire day?

She had mixed feelings about that.

They were silent from moments, and she felt herself become drowsy on the bouncing horse. That, mixed in with his comfort and heat melting into her body...she felt her head lole to the side a few times, jerking herself awake.

Half out of it, she felt herself lean her head back onto his shoulder. She half noticed him tensing, but she was too far gone. The lack of sleep and the stress of their journey were taking its toll on her. She fell into a deep slumber almost instantly, feeling secure with him pressed against her body. Right before she fell into unconsciousness, she felt a calming smell enter her noise. It was a warm, spicy scent. Like sandalwood and pine trees – making her inhale deeply in peace.

((O))

"I DON'T WANT PICKLES!" Evie yelled out, sitting up straight and looking around frantically, seeing she was laying on a blanket on the ground—next to a campfire in the dark. She was covered with a dark green cloak.

Blinking rapidly, her eyes made contact with Legolas, who was sitting on the other side of the campfire, looking quite startled. In his hands, he had a piece of wood, and was carving it with a small knife.

Her face immediately burst into flames. She...she fell asleep _on_ him! As the heat spread down her neck, she looked away, swallowing thickly as she looked at her lap. He...he must have moved her as well and covered her up...with his cloak.

A warm feeling spread throughout her body, causing a small smile to erupt on her face against her will. That was so sweet of him...

"What are pickles?"

She blinked, looking over at Legolas to see him carving without looking, but tilting his head in question towards her.

"Cucumbers that have been pickled," she scrunched her nose up distastefully.

He chuckled at her expression, looking down at the wood in his elegant hands.

"Thank you for, um..." Evie yawned, patting her hair as her eyes got wide, feeling it was indeed, crazy. Well, _that_ was embarrassing. "...for letting me sleep and moving me...and saving me...and do you want your cloak? You're probably cold! I'm sorry-"

"Evie," Legolas interrupted with a chuckle, making her shyly look at him. "there is nothing to be sorry for. And no, you can use it. As an elf, the elements do not bother me."

She opened her mouth to speak, but a smell invaded her nose. Her eyes zeroed in on the fire, noticing what appeared to be two smaller birds cooking on a long stick.

_'MEAT!...you are way too excited about this.' _

"Humans eat meat," Legolas sniffed, spinning his knife and impaling it on the log he was sitting on. "I thought you would be hungry when you awoke. And perhaps felt that you needed more than Elvish food."

Her heart warmed as she stared at him in awe. He saved her, let her sleep on him, moved her, gave her his cloak, and now he had killed animals so she could eat. Never would she have thought that he was THIS kind. She almost felt too overwhelmed.

"Y-you didn't have to do that..." she said quietly, looking at her hands in her lap. "but thank you. You have been very kind to me."

"You are my responsibility," Legola's said causally, lifting the piece of wood near his face and examining it closely.

Her heart fell a little. She could have went without him saying _that_. She didn't want to know that he simply did it out of duty—but she supposed she was kidding herself if she thought otherwise. It was better that way.

With a frown, she stretched her arms over head and wobbly stood. She put her hands on her lower back, pushing and popping her sore back. Then she stood on her toes, stretching out her legs.

Her head felt sore, and she messed with her hair, realizing it was the high pony tail that was giving her a headache. She grumbled, pulling out tiny metal things that resembled bobbi pins and ribbons. After what felt like an eternity, her big, wild curls fell down her arms—taking the pressure off of her head as she shook her hair out.

She sighed in relief, raising her arms again and rubbing her scalp with her fingers. Turning towards the two little birds as her stomach grumbled, blinking in surprise to see Legolas' eyes on her.

His expression was blank, but he didn't even flinch at the fact she caught him staring at her.

Because it didn't _mean_ anything. She was probably just more interesting than a _rock_. After all, it was pitch black dark. What the hell else was he supposed to look at other than his carving?

Not commenting, she looked towards the little birds.

"_Sana sina—_they are finished," he said, following her eyes as he stood, removing him from the fire and handing them to her on the stick.

She gingerly took them from him, "thank you..."

"_Ta nae_ _Seasamin—_you're most welcome," he gave her a smile, sitting back on his log and ripping his knife back out of it as he started carving into the wood again.

Evie sat down on her legs on her blanket, eying the little birds and feeling slightly guilty. But, she was too hungry to feel_ too_ guilty about it.

She picked some of the meat, timidly putting it in her mouth. She had no idea what kind of bird it was, but knew that whatever it was, it was edible. Legola's wouldn't have given it to her otherwise.

"There is some water next to your blanket," Legola's said, making her look at him. He was still looking at his carving.

She chewed, eyes widening in surprise as she ripped off another piece. I tasted just like chicken! Well, maybe a little more tender. She ate a few more bites, picking up the water bag and taking a few drinks from it.

As she swallowed, she looked at what Legolas was carving, trying to see if she could make out a shape. It was useless, though. Her mind was too focused on his thin fingers and his large palms. How could someone look so _perfect_? He should at least have creepy fingers or something. Some physical flaw...

"What are you carving?" she blurted.

He glanced up at her through his lashes, making her throat go dry. She took another swig of water.

"You'll just have to see, now won't you?" he said playfully, giving her a sly smirk.

Her heart jumped in her throat. She really was over sensitive to _everything_ he said.

"The song you sang," he said, before she could reply. "what is it called?"

"Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls," she answered, taking a sip of water as he looked up at her with a perplexed expression.

"Goo...Goo...dolls?" she repeatedly slowly, looking flabbergasted.

She couldn't help it when giggles escaped her. He just looked so innocently confused. It was..._adorable._

"It's a group of men that make music," she smiled, taking another bite.

"Is that—all they do?" he asked, raising a sarcastic eyebrow and making her giggle again.

"I believe so. It's not that uncommon," she shook her head, biting her lip.

"...men in your world do not know how to fight? They spend their time...singing?" Legola's asked, looking like he was about to laugh at the mere though of it. It looked like it was completely _ludicrous_ to him.

"Some," she smiled, raising her eyebrows in amusement as he looked almost disgusted. As though laziness had something to do with it.

"And females are attracted to these males?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion. "males that sing and not fight?"

"Well...I mean, some men fight," she chuckled. "It's not like the entire world is a bunch of male singers. But yes, girls actually like them best..."

He looked at her like she slapped him in the face, making her burst into giggles. He looked almost _offended_.

"Do you?" he asked, tilted his eyes and his blue eyes flashed.

"Do I..." she chuckled, taking a sip of water and thinking. "I don't have a type."

"Type?"

She smiled, pleased that he was asking her, even if it was to make simple conversation or plain curiosity.

"Type of male I like," she answered, all too aware that she said 'male' and not 'man'. "I just...like who I like. If I like them, I don't care if they fight or sing...or both. I don't care about that."

"You would have a male that did not know how to _defend_ you?" he asked, looking more stunned now that before. "even when you cannot defend yourself?"

"If I loved him, yes. Why not?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't that big of a deal in her world. "I suppose either could learn if we had to, could we not?"

He was looking at her strangely now, making her shift as she sat. He was looking at her as though he'd never seen her before.

"What?" she asked eventually, actually feeling uncomfortable.

"You have a kind soul," he said quietly, his blue eyes soft. "it is rare."

"Tauriel said the same," she blurted, before mentally slapping herself at mentioning the elleth.

His eyebrows pulled down. "It is strange," he whispered, tilting his head. "her name no longer causes me pain."

She stared at him in confusion. Had she misinterpreted him mentioning her the day before? It was possible that her jealousy made her hear something that was not there. Perhaps it was what Tauriel said that made her instantly think that. If she had said nothing, would she have jumped to that conclusion? Probably not.

She suddenly felt ashamed.

"She said Elves have mates. I thought that was fascinating," she said quickly, taking another bite.

"Yes, that is true," he smiled, continuing his carving. "I am sure I will find my life mate."

"I'm sure she will be perfect," Evie said quietly, forcing a smile on her face as she suddenly lost her appetite.

His mate would be. She'd have to be to be destined to _him_.

"Perfect to me," he said from across the fire, making her raise her eyebrows.

"...No, I'm pretty sure she'd be perfect in general," Evie laughed almost bitterly, shaking her head.

He slowly raised his eyes to look at her, his face pretty unreadable.

"Of course, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," Evie stammered, worried she was somehow being obvious. "though I cannot imagine an unattractive elf."

Her eyes widened. Did she accidentally just call him attractive? It wasn't like he didn't know that, but accidentally telling him that was something else entirely!

Word vomit.

"N-not that...I mean, I – oh my God...never mind," she muttered, looking down as set her finished meal down.

He was still silent and she couldn't bear to look at him. If she could kick her own ass, she probably would. He must think she was some kind of dumb ass – which was reasonable because she was kind of thinking she was a dumb ass as well.

"Elves have desires like everyone else," he said quietly, making her still in shock. "we have a life mate, but it is extremely rare for the elf to find the one they are destined to before their 2,000th birthday. Until then, it could be fleeting romances—or even simply carnal pleasure."

Evie's eyes widened as she slowly brought her head up, staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. His face was still blank, but she knew she had a stupid look on hers. He was too honest...a flame started to flicker inside of her. Did that—did that mean he'd taken women to his bed?

_'You dumb ass.' _she scolded herself. He was – God only knew how old – of course he had slept with a woman! She was a fucking idiot to even question otherwise. He was beautiful and a _prince_...he could bed any woman he wanted to!

She felt a sickening feeling in her stomach at the thought. She_ really_ wished he hadn't told her that.

"But after the mate is found, there will never be another for the Elf—In any way," he said, looking down. "there have been tales of elves mating to trees, believe it or not."

He smirked up at her and despite her negative feelings, she burst out into laughter.

"Should I...leave you alone to the woods?" she asked, raising one eyebrow and smirking.

He let out a bark of laughter, making her eyes glaze over at how beautiful he looked when he laughed.

"_Tanya nae sai eina—_I do not find trees particularly appealing – I am sorry."

God, she _loved _it when he spoke elvish...even though she didn't know what it meant, she could figure. It was just habit, she was sure. Whatever – she _wasn't _complaining.

"What happens when the mate is recognized?" she asked curiously.

He looked as though he was contemplating telling her.

"The bond is consummated usually," he said, making her start clearing her throat awkwardly as he grinned. "the female will feel an intense desire when the male realizes that she is his mate—only the mate can quell such a desire. It almost incapacitates her-"

"Uhhhh..." she blubbered, looking anywhere but him.

It didn't even phase him.

"-if it is not dealt with, it can actually become quite excruciating for the female," he sounded as though he was frowning. "this is not just elleths, it happens to whoever female shall be attached to a male elf. It is simply part of the elven bond."

"Remind me no to mate to an elf," she said quietly, not even meaning her words. The thought of him..._with_ someone else in that way—simply made her stomach turn. She desired him and could _not_ have him, that was all. It was simply a crush that would fade, she was sure.

"If it is destined, it is not your choice."

* * *

_Uuma dela__\- _Don't worry

_Sana sina- _Take this

_Ta nae_ _Seasamin- _it was My pleasure

_Tanya nae sai eina- _That was very funny


	5. Chapter Five: Falling Fast

**A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone that has reviewed, followed, and added this to their favorites! You're awesome. I read everything I get and it really helps inspire me xD so, thanks!  
**

**Disclaimer: I no own.**

* * *

**_Chapter Five: Falling Fast_**

**_"It doesn't matter what we do  
You make everything seem brighter  
I never knew I needed you  
Like a sad song needs a sea of lighters_**

**_What is it I'm feeling?_**  
**_'Cause I can't let it go_**  
**_If seeing is believing_**  
**_I already know..."_**

* * *

"I'm not sure I believe that," Evie said, frowning slightly. "of all things, you should be able to chose who you love."

"It is a choice," Legolas said, bringing his bright eyes up. "its a choice your soul makes, not your mind or even your heart."

"How can it be a choice if you are not given an option?" Evie asked, tilting her head as he stared at her. She didn't necessarily disagree, but she liked playing devil's advocate at times.

"I suppose it depends on whether or not you deem subconscious decisions a choice," she continued and scrunched her nose with a smile. "some would define a choice that you make _consciously._"

His mouth twitched, and she knew that he knew exactly what she was doing. Good, he was smart. Not that she expected anything different.

"A choice is a choice, regardless to how it is made," he said slowly, tilting his head. "wouldn't you agree?"

She grinned. "Yes, but I will say...I don't like the idea that a female has to go through agony until she can...do the do with a guy," she pursed her lips.

"Neither have ever complained," he answered, raising an eyebrow and making her flush.

"Well, I complain about everything, so..." she yawned, running her fingers through her hair. "if it happens to me, I'll be the first."

"I still doubt that," Legolas chuckled.

"You have a lot of confidence in the physical abilities of all male elves," Evie laughed, shaking her head. Not only was he cocky with _himself_, but with the entire_ race_. "I don't know why we're even talking about this. It's not going to happen to me, so I'll have to settle for complaining about something else...my back hurts."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Do not say that. You do not know who you are destined for. I have seen human maidens much less attractive than you be mated to an Elf."

"..."

"I'm not sure how to take that," she mused, rolling her eyes. "don't worry, you're not _as_ ugly as they are. _Gee_, thanks. I feel _loads _better now."

"I did not intend it to be insulting. I actually intended to compliment," he smirked. "perhaps I am not as skilled as I believe I am."

"_Hah_, I'm sure you could tell some elves their face looked like a horses ass, and they'd grin because you acknowledged them, _your highness_," Evie giggled, throwing herself back on the blanket.

"A lady such as yourself should not use such vulgar language. It is unflattering to your appearance."

She snorted in a very unladylike fashion. She found that she was growing oddly comfortable with Legolas the more they talked...to her _extreme _surprise.

"I don't really have anyone to impress right now," she shook her head. She could act the most prim and proper lady in the _world_ and he wouldn't_ want _her – so why not be herself?

"Besides, its who I am. I'm not going to waste my time pretending to be something I'm just...not."

"I can't remember the last time a female did_ not _want to impress me."

_'Not that I don't want to. I CAN'T. And I have too much pride to embarrass myself doing something pointless. So, don't be so sure.' _

"..."

"Careful, if your head gets much fatter, it may explode." Evie rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile as she looked up at the sky. It was beautiful in brilliancy, a billion perfect stars crossing the darkness. It was untouched—It was amazing.

"Fat head? But I am not fat."

Evie giggled. "It's just an expression. It means you're cocky."

"Cocky?"

"Conceited, self-righteous, full of yourself. 'I'm so beautiful and perfect' – blah."

"...do you think so little of me?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes widened, whipping her head to the side to see him watching her blankly, but a sad look cross his bright eyes.

Her _soul_ broke.

"What? No! I think very highly of you!" she exclaimed, panicked as she sat up. "I was just playing with you. You think highly of yourself because you should. I didn't mean anything bad. I think a lot of you."

A slow, mischievous smile curled his face, making her jaw drop.

"I _am_ as skilled as I believe myself to be. Please close your mouth, Evie," he smirked as she snapped her mouth shut. "that expression does nothing whatsoever for your appearance."

"You..._ass_. I believed you!" Evie pursed her lips as he started laughing. The fact that he looked ethereally beautiful dissipated her anger at him—and made her direct it at herself.

She huffed, looking around to see the two horses tied to a tree nearby. She stomped off, trying to fight the urge to flip him off when she stumbled and she heard him laugh.

She didn't want to reveal her flushed face, so she kept her back turned, walking up to Sebastian with a smile.

If horses could smile, she knew he would have been.

"Hey Sebby," she giggled, sliding her arms around his neck and giving the horse a hug.

_'Great, I'm turning into one of those girls from 7th grade that had a weird obsession with horses.' _

"You should sing to him."

Evie let out a high pitched yelp, clutching her heart in fright as she whipped around to see Legolas petting Rohden, looking innocent – _too _innocent.

He had intentionally scared the living shit out of her. His mouth was twitching!

"Jesus – _fuck _– are you trying to kill me?!" she took and unsteady breath, letting her hand fall and giving him a sour look.

He raised an elegant eyebrow, his eyes glittering in amusement.

"I apologize, I couldn't resist," he chuckled, turning towards Rohden and to her surprise, he started singing quietly in Elvish.

Her heart lurched in her chest as she watched his lips barely move, lowly singing. The words rolled over her like silk – it was simply _sublime. _It felt like the most perfect thing she'd ever heard. It made her heart race and be calm at the same time. He sounded _so _perfect – to her.

Before she knew it, he had stopped and was looking at her as he rubbed Rohden's face.

"Singing of the chosen brings calm to the elvish horse," he informed her quietly. "after today, it would please Sebastian."

_'Not only was he trying to distract me...he was trying to calm my young and scared horse. Does this guy have motive to every move he makes?' _

She forced her eyes away from the beautiful Elf and to Sebastian, who was looking at her expectantly. She stroked his mane, not entirely sure what to sing to a..._horse_. She knew he was _special_, but saying that out loud made her sound like those crazy cat people. Should she break out in, 'Oops, I did it again!'?

Not likely. He had no fucking clue who Britney Spears was, and she still didn't want to be caught singing it!

She awkwardly cleared her throat, glancing over the Elf.

"Could you like...go over there or something?"

"Why would it matter? I have already heard you sing—I could still hear you as if I were right here," he said simply, tapping his pointed ear and making her huff.

She was about to kick her own ass for what she was going to sing.

"_Some say love, it is a river that drowns the tender reed__  
__Some say love, it is a razor that leaves your soul to bleed__  
__Some say love, it is a hunger an endless aching need__  
__I say love, it is a flower and you, it's only seed..."_

She couldn't help but smile when Sebastian's dark eyes clearly glazed over, looking almost sleepy. Perhaps she should have picked a lullaby? She felt like he was a baby, a big baby.

"_It's the heart, afraid of breaking that never learns to dance  
It's the dream, afraid of waking that never takes the chance  
It's the one who won't be taken who cannot seem to give  
And the soul, afraid of dying that never learns to live..."_

She didn't dare look at Legolas, but she could feel him there. Listening and watching her intently.

"_When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long  
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong  
Just remember in the winter far beneath the winter snow  
Lies the seed that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes the rose..."_

Sebastian neighed softly, nuzzling her face in a loving way and making her giggle at the sweet horse.

Yeah, _definitely_ gonna be one of those weird horse girls she use to roll her eyes at.

"Such beautiful words..." she heard Legolas say quietly as she bit her lip lightly.

"Are you making fun of me again?" she asked just as quietly, not looking at him as she ran a finger down Sebastian's face.

She'd make fun of her.

"_Lirimaer – _I am not," he answered quietly, and for some reason, she felt the need to ask what that meant for once.

"Leer..._whatever_. What does that mean?" she asked, looking at him as he grinned at his horse.

"_Liri-ma-er_," he repeated slowly, turning his eyes to her and her face scrunched up.

"Leerimayer."

His broad shoulders shook as he chuckled at her absolutely butchering elvish. She didn't mind. At least he was amused and not offended.

"_Liri,_" he said and paused, waiting for her to copy him.

"..."

"Will you friggin' stop that and tell me what it means?" she huffed, growing impatient.

Why was she suddenly so comfortable with him? In very little time, she felt as though she could joke around, be herself, and even tell him things...and he wouldn't turn away from her. Did he feel the same way? After all, they _seemed_ to be friends rather quickly...if there was any indication from how he was joking with her, she knew he must have felt quick friendship as well. They were from different worlds, quite literally, but they were oddly similar...they both had this playful, sarcastic attitude. Both of them hid it under different things. She hid hers under her shyness and bashfulness...he hid his under cockiness and acting all high and mighty.

"It would appear that you need to learn elvish, now wouldn't it?" he said cockily, looking past her at the horizon. "the sun rises very soon. We should prepare to leave."

"What? It's dark as fu-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, the sun peeked slightly over the horizon, casting a dim light on them.

Legolas raised an eyebrow.

"You were saying?"

"I was saying to shut up. Is there a river or something nearby?"

"Just past these trees," he nodded his head to the side. "do not wander far. I will come after you if I can no longer hear you."

Considering she had to pee, she _really_ didn't want that to happen...but at the same time, she didn't want him to _hear_ her pee...

"Urgh," she lightly playfully glared at him, grabbing her bag off Sebastian and walking into the trees.

She walked a few minutes, seeing a small river area with a small water fall. There were lush green bushes all around, covered in dark purple flowers. It was untouched, and she wondered if the area had any interaction, besides animals, before now. It was almost serene.

Looking around, she crept near a bush near the waterfall, praying to whatever deity existed that he wouldn't hear.

When she finished, she looked around the area before quickly stripping her dress and under garments off as she jumped into the river.

Bad idea.

She instantly shot up.

"FUCK COLD!" she screeched, hugging her arms across her chest and shivering. It was warm out! Why was the water _so_ fucking cold? Its not like it was winter! It wasn't freezing, per say, but it was definitely chilly and she could get dramatic at times. She stayed there until her body became accustomed to it.

Swimming up to her bag, she pulled out some elvish soap, a brush, and some herbs they used to brush their teeth with. She wasn't sure what the bristles were made out of on the 'toothbrush' but they didn't feel anything like brushes from her world. These were hard and horrible, but in all honestly, the herbs made her teeth feel cleaner than toothpaste did, which was weird. It made up for the 'brush' being so horrible.

She cleaned her teeth and her body fairly quickly. The sun slightly broke through the trees, landing on the small water fall. She turned towards it as she lathered up her hair. The water was so pure and clean, she was sure that Dasani was sewage in comparison. The sun shining on it looked at though millions of diamonds were coming off the bank, landing into the river she was currently cleaning her gross off in.

Her mind zoned out as she ducked her hair down, rinsing it and twisting it as she continued staring at the beautiful waterfall.

"You're taking too long."

"Eek!" Evie screeched, even though it came from behind her, she covered her chest as her heart raced.

She glared over her bare shoulder to see Legolas standing at the edge of the river, strong arms crossed and a stern look on his face.

"Do you mind?!" she hissed.

"No, I do not. Please get out."

Evie looked at him like he'd slapped her in the face.

"Wha – I'm naked!" she gasped. He couldn't be _serious_.

"So? You posses nothing that I have not seen before."

Evie turned away from him, red flushing her neck and face. But not from embarrassment – from anger. Did he _have_ to point out he'd been with bitches to her? Was it _really _necessary? He was setting her on a constant roller coaster of emotions. She felt bipolar and needed to slow down before she got whiplash.

"I don't give a shit what you've seen or not seen, but you're not seeing _my _naked ass," she snapped, refusing to look at him. "so, if you don't intend on leaving without me, get out of here—because I'm not getting out until you're out of sight."

"..."

Did he really just expect her to be naked in front of him? It wasn't even that he was trying to be pervy, or even _wanted_ to see. He just literally thought it didn't _matter._ Who did he think she was? It _mattered _to her!

"Do you actually believe I would think inappropriate thoughts of you in the innocent act of bathing?" Legolas finally spoke from behind her, sounding insulted. "I am not a mortal man. We are different than that."

_'No NO!' _Evie commanded herself when she actually felt a tiny bit of guilt. She was not going to feel that. Nope. No way.

"Exactly. We _are_ different," she said quietly, knowing the sadness in her voice was showing. "so please respect my wishes."

"..."

"As you wish," he said quietly as she took a deep breath, giving a few moments before she looked over her shoulder and around, seeing the elf was nowhere to be seen.

Feeling an unrelenting sadness, she climbed from the water, drying herself with some cloth from her bag.

She pulled out a red, off the shoulders stretchy dress. It was basically the same as the one from the day before. Though she would say she was kind of glad. She was getting a little tired of so much green.

Lifting a clear bottle with some kind of flower oil, she awkwardly poured some in her hand and ran it through her hair like Uranthial had told her. When she was finished, she painfully went through her curls with a comb, desperately missing the hairbrush of her world.

Packing up her thing and placing her beautiful necklace back on, she took a deep breath and walked into the clearing.

Legolas was mounted on his horse, looking at the horizon as he held the reigns of Sebastian in one pale hand.

Taking a deep breath, and mustering the courage she did _not_ have; she walked up and tied her bag back to Sebastian.

When she turned, Legolas' arm was thrust towards her, not looking at her.

She knew she must have insulted him, and she desperately wanted to apologize, but her pride was in the way. She couldn't make herself apologize for not letting him see her naked. Even if they were different, she didn't care. She was allowed to have modesty, even if she was just another undesirable human to him.

The thought depressed her.

As she reached her hand up, he dropped the reigns, letting them fall right into her hands.

She frowned at him, turning sharply towards Sebastian and grabbing the saddle with more force than necessary.

Sebastian whinnied slightly, getting down on his haunches once again.

Despite her foul mood, a small smile broke on her face as she slid onto the saddle. Sebastian instantly raised in the air, making a giggle escape her as she pushed her wet hair behind her back. She was about to have a nature hair dryer.

She glanced over at Legolas, reeling in shock when she found his eyes watching her. His face was blank, as it usually was, but there were many emotions swirling in his stormy eyes. He looked forward before she could even begin to decipher them.

With no words, Rohden took off in a medium gallop as Sebastian took off after him, making her gasp.

Sebastian remained slightly behind them, and Evie wondered if he could feel her displeasure with the prince? She would _not_ be surprised, seeing how intelligent the horse was.

They rode in silence for what felt like hours.

To say that she was bored was understatement.

Many times, she considered speaking just to end the insufferable silence. In her opinion, he was acting like a fucking child. But she was a hypocrite, as she was being stubborn and not speaking either. But she couldn't shake that she was the one that was right. She knew that if he didn't speak when the night came, she'd speak up. It would kill her pride, though.

Every now and then, his perfect head would look back at her. She was sure to check and make sure she wasn't sleeping on Sebastian. Either way, she pretended she didn't notice and stared ahead every time he looked. When he wasn't looking, she took the opportunity to stare at his pale hair and admire how it sparkled in the sunlight.

Speaking of sunlight, she looked at her shoulders and chest. She was pale in the extreme, and she knew that she would end up with a horrible sunburn. It was too warm to put her cloak on, though. It must have been made from some special cloth. It was light as a feather, but warm as twenty blankets.

After a while, Evie felt the need to pee. But peeing would involve speaking up, so she held it. Even as she continued to sip from the water bag.

She got by with singing songs in her head, maybe even rolling her shoulders a bit to the beat in her head.

She actually really wanted to sing, but she was one of those people that only loved it when absolutely no one around to hear it.

But actually, it could work to her benefit. She could start singing something _ridiculous_, and the curious elf would have no choice but to ask what the hell she was saying...then she could tell him she had to pee!

It was flawless.

"Mum mum mum mah!" she exclaimed out of nowhere, quietly snickering in amusement as the Elf jumped and spun his head around to look at her with a shocked expression.

She kept her eyes ahead, continuing as though nothing had happened.

"I wanna hold 'em like they do in Texas, please  
Fold 'em, let 'em, hit me, raise it, baby, stay with me (I love it)  
Love game intuition play the cards with Spades to start  
And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart-"

She paused, waiting for some kind of reaction from him. Even though she was pointedly staring straight ahead, she could feel him staring at her.

_Still _not going to ask, huh?

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh,  
I'll get him hot, show him what I've got..."

Still, nothing. It's cool – the chorus was always her favorite part anyway.

"Can't read my,  
Can't read my  
No he can't read my poker face  
Can't read my  
Can't read my  
No he can't read my pooooker face-"

"WHAT are you doing?"

Evie bit her lip at his sudden, loud exclamation. She was torn between answering him, and continuing just to annoy him.

She picked the latter.

"P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face  
Mum mum mum mah

I wanna roll with him, a hard pair we will be  
A little gambling is fun when you're with me (I love it)  
Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun  
And baby when it's love if its not rough it isn't fun!"

She let out a small gasp as Sebastian came to a sudden halt, her eyes widening as the Prince invaded her vision as he pulled Rohden directly in front of her line of sight. He was giving her an irritated expression, his stormy eyes narrowed.

"I believe I asked you a question."

"It's a song," she said, blinking innocently as his eyes narrowed.

"The words are absurd. That cannot be a song. You are just saying words to annoy me."

"I have to pee."

"..."

She watched as he closed his beautiful eyes, taking a long and slow deep breath before opening them again. Her heart raced thinking she may have actually made him angry...

As she started to speak, he jumped off his horse and walked up to her, holding his hand out with a gentle smile on his face.

She stared in amazement.

"I am sorry," he said quietly. "I was the one that was wrong, _Lirimaer. _Please, forgive me."

Her heart was beating so hard, she thought it would surely burst from her chest at any moment. His eyes were kind, gentle, and _sincere_. The swirling blue orbs were glowing, practically begging her to forgive him.

"It insulted me so. I do not pretend to know why," he looked thoughtful for moments, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I'm sorry," she blurted, her face flushing. "I...I don't want you to think I don't trust you, I do, very much – but I-"

He shook his head, making her falter.

"You are too kind. You have no reason to apologize," he gave her a perfect, warm smile. "take my hand, I will help you down."

She smiled, her heart fluttering. It didn't even occur to her to deny him.

Slowly, she slid her small hand into his rather large one.

A shock jolted her body, making her eyes widen as she looked up at him. His blue eyes were wide as well, staring at their hands with a puzzled expression. Exciting pulses were traveling up her arm, making her heart race in response.

She didn't know how long they stayed that way, just staring at their interlocked hands. After a bit, she gasped when he wrapped an arm around her waist, lifting her down to the ground.

Her body thrummed, and her breathing picked up against her will. She almost moaned in pain when he released her hand and body, stepping away and turning towards his horse.

"Do not wander far," he said quietly.

She couldn't speak, so she shakily made her way over to the trees, needing the fastest getaway in her life – even though her entire being was trying to pull towards him. Once she was long out of sight, she fell against a tree, gasping loudly as her body shook.

"What...the _fuck_?" she exclaimed, feeling like her entire body was one giant heart as it pulsed. She began to even wonder if it even had anything to do with him. Was she getting _sick_?

Her knees trembled and she shrunk down, breathing heavily. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, willing her body to calm down, but she knew it was quite a while. She did her business, noticing that this time, he wasn't coming after her. Probably because of their little spat.

She sighed, taking a deep breath and willing her nerves to calm. What the fuck had happened? It seemed unlikely that THAT had anything to do with him. But her mind kept going back to when she touched the King...how her body had rejected him. How it almost caused her physical pain to lightly hold his hands.

But Legolas...

It was..._electric_, she supposed was a good word. Was it because she was attracted to him? But _why_ would simply touching his hand make her feel that way? It didn't make sense. She could go with that she was just really pathetic, but she decided to go with it doesn't make sense.

She felt a sense of helplessness.

"What's happening to me?"


	6. Chapter Six: Can You Feel My Heart?

_**Chapter Six: Can You Feel My Heart?**_

"_I'm scared to get close and I hate being alone.  
I long for that feeling to not feel at all.  
The higher I get, the lower I'll sink.  
I can't drown my demons, they know how to swim._

_Can you feel my heart?_

_Can you hear the silence?_  
_Can you see the dark?_  
_Can you fix the broken?_  
_Can you feel... can you feel my heart?"_

* * *

Evie wasn't sure how long she sat there, willing her heart to calm. All she could think about was his cool, slightly calloused hand against hers.

Knowing she had to go back, she shakily stood, taking a deep breath and patting her hair down. Not that it helped, it was just habit.

She slowly walked out of the woods, keeping her head down and avoiding looking at the Prince. She didn't have to look to _feel_ him there, staring at her.

Gulping as Sebastian got down for her, she climbed on.

"_Mani naa ta__—_Are you angry with me?"

She breathed in sharply, his voice sending chills down her spine.

"O-of course not," she said quietly, staring down at Sebastian's mane. "you've done nothing wrong."

There was silence for moments, then she gasped as Sebastian took off after Rohden galloping towards the sun that looked to be setting.

Evie's heart rarely calmed the entire time. As Legola's stayed in front of her, she kept..._smelling_ him. Which she hadn't noticed before. The sandalwood smell didn't calm her now. It made her heart rush with excitement.

She tried not to think about what had happened. Her mind couldn't even begin to wrap around what was wrong with her. She was slightly frightened, and she didn't know what to do. What was she supposed to do? Bring it up to Legolas?

_'My whole body tingled when you held my hand.' _

Yeah, right. She'd rather be shot in the fucking head.

How she wished Tauriel was here. Maybe that way, she could talk to her...and not just sit like an idiot and tell herself repeatedly that nothing was wrong, when clearly, something was going on. After all, she knew she was pretty pathetic...and yes, Legolas was attractive..._insanely _attractive—but STILL. No, she shouldn't be getting lightheaded from touching his hand...she was ridiculous, but not quite THAT ridiculous. If it stayed this way, she could tolerate it and maybe even try to blame in on her..._hormones _or something. But she was scared. Scared she was going to do something to scare him away...she didn't feel in control of herself. That frightened her more than anything.

"The sun will set soon," Legolas voice finally sounded, pulling her out of her thoughts. "we need to make camp here."

Evie looked around, seeing him slowly leading towards an area near a forest that had a few trees surrounding it.

As he jumped down and began pulling things from Rohden, Evie was more than happy to get off Sebastian. Her legs were more than sore. Her thighs were throbbing – not to mention her face, shoulders, and collarbone were all on fire, sporting a pretty bad sunburn. She probably looked like fucking Hellboy.

She wobbly got off Sebastian, moaning in pain as her legs trembled.

Grabbing her bag, she limped over to where Legola's was making a fire and pulled out her sleeping blanket. She threw it down and all but collapsed on the ground, moaning in pain.

"Are you alright?" Legolas' concerned voice sounded.

"_No_, I'm _not _okay," Evie grumbled, face down in the blanket. "my legs hurt so bad, I think it would be less painful to cut them off and walk on nubs. Don't even get me started on my sunburn on my shoulders. I'm dying."

She knew she sounded whiny, but its amazing how much you don't care when you're in pain.

"_Esta sinome—_stay here," he suddenly said, and she felt him around her and towards the trees.

"Whereyou goin'?" she mumbled into the blanket.

"I'll return shortly," he simply responded.

She grunted in the blanket, turning her head towards the fire. Her limbs were throbbing, but exhaustion took over and she fell into a deep sleep.

(())

Pain thrummed through her body, making her wake up with a painful gasp.

"You need elvish medicine," Legolas' voice sounded instantly from beside her, making her blink to see him holding two large leaves, sitting on his knees. "I made salve while you were sleeping."

"Anything," Evie groaned, rolling onto her back as she looked up at him.

"I have to lift your dress."

"..."

"What?"

"To apply the salve to your legs," he said quietly, making her face burn even more. "I hope you trust me to help you..."

Evie considered saying she'd rather die, but considering how much pain she was in, she decided to allow it. She knew Legolas would think nothing of it, but that wasn't the issue...the thought of his hands on her made the feelings from earlier come back. And _that_ made her nervous. But, what choice did she have?

"I trust you," she mumbled, swallowing thickly.

"Thank you," he smiled, setting one leaf down and reaching down to the hem of her dress.

Her heart instantly spiked. She prayed to anything that he couldn't hear it. He slowly lifted the dress, revealing her pale legs. It was as though he was afraid she'd get up and run.

Like she could outrun the elven prince if her life depended on it.

He stopped mid thigh, making her release a breath of relief.

"This will be very warm," he informed her as she watched him scoop up some kind of green paste in his hand, muttering a few words in elvish. "It should soothe the muscles."

She couldn't speak. She just nodded. Was Legolas _really _about to touch her legs?

As his palm reached under her leg and made contact with her calf, it was a definite_ yes_.

Her heart instantly started racing as he applied pressure, moving his hand up and down her calf and muttering in elvish.

The tingly feeling was starting to return.

_'Oh God no.'_ she thought in her head as he moved to her other calf, repeating his motions.

_'I'm not okay...'_ she thought, gripping the blanket and pursing her lips, trying to appear as natural as possible.

She looked about as natural as a Polar bear in the Gobi desert.

She sighed in relief when he stopped and she felt a soothing warmth envelop her calves, making her moan out in relief. It momentarily distracted her from the tingling pulses going through her system.

"...forgive me," Legola's said quietly, making her make a confused expression for moments before her eyes got so big, they looked like they would pop out of her skull.

She felt his hand gently run over the top of her thigh, spreading the salve. Her breathing instantly picked up as fire shot from his hand, landing directly to her stomach, making her mouth slightly drop open in surprise. He moved to her other thigh, muttering in elvish. Was it her imagination, or did his usually flawless voice slightly break? She felt as though his hand trembled slightly.

"Uhhh – I, um-"

"Shhhh," he coaxed quietly, cutting off her panicked stuttering. "I'm done." he said quietly, removing his gentle hand from her thigh and slowly pulling her dress back down.

Even as the elvish medicine coursed through her thigh muscles, relaxing them as the pain slowly went away...she still felt a thrumming desire coursing through her, making her clench her jaw in frustration.

"Can you sit up?" he asked in a deep voice, causing her to feel another pang even though she wasn't even looking at him.

She nodded stiffly, slowly sitting up to face him, wincing through her desire as the cloth of her dress moved against her sunburn.

_'You can do this.' _she repeated over and over in her mind. She acted like she'd never felt any kind of desire before. Although she knew she hadn't to this extent.

"This salve should cool and lighten your sunburn," he informed her as she stared at the ground, nodding like an idiot.

Great, now he was going to touch her shoulders. But she knew the worst part was over. She never thought she'd be_ thankful_ for pain. If she hadn't been experiencing so much of it, she could have humiliated herself and jumped him or something.

"It looked as though your hair blocked your back from being hurt," he said very close in front of her, making her pulse spike as she let out an unsteady breath, steeling her nerves.

"Yeah...without an elvish maid, I guess my crazy hair has its benefits," she said somewhat bitterly, tucking her hair behind her ears. "she gave me the stuff she used, but I guess I'm too friggin' stupid to do it right."

"...Do you want my honest opinion?" he asked quietly after a pause.

She raised her eyebrows, this causing her to finally look at up at him.

He was right in front of her, looking down at her. His blue eyes seemed to be a darker shade than usual, and Evie figured he must be tired. She took at moment to admire his cocaine skin, that was flawless. Not a single scar, or blemish. She couldn't even see a shadow of facial hair? Did elves even grow facial hair? Was that a thing? Elves were_ too_ perfect.

_'He's so beautiful,'_ she thought dreamily to herself, trying to keep it out of her gaze.

"I don't know – do I?" she chuckled awkwardly, giving him a small smile and making his eyes flash brightly.

He reached out a long fingered hand, pushing her hair behind her shoulders, revealing the redness. Her eyes widened and she looked down sharply.

"I like it better this way."

He might as well have punched her. His quiet words that made her head whip back up had the same reaction.

"Why?" she blurted, looking at his perfect face that had a gentle, yet amused expression on it. How could he possibly like her frizzy..._bush _more than when the elves made it all nice and perfect? The big, loose curls were literally frizzy all over her head. She could _feel_ it.

"Because its untamed like you are," he chuckled at her instant glare. "Its not as bad as you believe. Its messy and I am unused to seeing a female with unkempt hair-"

"_Okay_, jeeze..." she pursed her lips up at him, making him chuckle again.

"It just looks...appealing – especially when your face flushes with it," he smirked as her face lit on fire, looking back towards the ground and glaring at it. Now he was just mocking her.

She felt something cold as ice touch her shoulder, making her gasp loudly and grab his leather wrapped wrist on instinct.

He paused and she looked up at him, breathing slightly uneven.

"T-that's cold!" she gasped, letting his wrist go and muttering an apology as he looked at her with an amused expression.

He gently moved his hand across her shoulder, making her gasp and grab his wrist again. It was cold as fucking _ice_! She almost didn't even feel the tingles going across her body at his touch.

"Evie-"

"_Fuck_! Its cold!" she gasped, resisting the urge to flinch away. Even though it was extremely uncomfortable, she couldn't flinch from his touch..._ever_.

"Do I have to hold you down?"

Her mouth fell open, making a deep flush cross her body at the thoughts that immediately entered her mind at those words. Thank_ God_ he wasn't some kind of mind reader.

"No..." she said awkwardly, closing her eyes and hissing as he moved to her other shoulder, rubbing the salve and muttering in elvish.

His hand lightly rubbed across her collarbone, and she took a sharp intake of breath, her heart pounding against her ribcage. There...there was _no_ way he couldn't feel that! Desire and embarrassment flushed her skin as her breathing picked up, and she lightly squirmed on the ground.

He needed to stop...and_ soon_, or she was going to _pounce _him. Her fingers were _twitching_, wanting to reach out and touch him. She bit her lip, feeling like she was close to drawing blood and she gripped the blanket underneath her.

His slightly calloused hand traced her collarbone, moved up lightly to her neck, making her gulp as he trailed it back down and across. He slid his hand back up to her shoulder, gently rubbing, before running his hand back and repeating with the other.

Either every moment was an eternity or he was taking a _lot_ longer. She jumped almost violently when she felt his fingers go across her hot cheeks and forehead, running a single finger down her nose, making it twitch and he chuckled.

He moved his hand back down to her shoulders. Was he seriously not done there yet?

She kept her eyes closed the entire time, trying to control the unrelenting _lust_ pounding through her body. She didn't even open them when she heard him take a sharp breath and exhaled; slowly and shakily.

Her eyebrows furrowed as he pulled his hand away, much to her relief AND displeasure.

"You need to eat," his voice sounded further away, his voice a few octaves deeper than it usually was. "I will return."

Her eyes snapped open at his words, only to see that he was gone. She looked around the camp site, seeing that he was nowhere in sight.

She let out an uneven and shaky breath, frowning when she saw a plate of some kind of fruit near the fire. And on the fire, some more small birds cooking.

If...if he already found her food, then _why_ did he leave?

She openly cringed when the horrifying thought occurred that he had noticed her lust for him...had he? No, she knew that she didn't make it obvious! She had kept self control. If ANYTHING, she seemed uncomfortable and nervous. She had kept her eyes closed. It wasn't like she had been making sex eyes at him!

For the sake of her sanity, she convinced herself that it had nothing to do with her. It was just something weird with him.

She crawled over the fire, her legs only causing her mild pain. She looked at her shoulders, seeing them looking slightly oily. But to her amazement, the sunburn was practically gone. How did that stuff work? There was NOTHING in her world that could work like that! She knew that if he hadn't done it, she would have blistered.

Her stomach growled and she reached out, plucking the little birds from the fire, starting to dig in. She picked up some fruit, and examined it. It was green and...had seeds. It looked like a green pomegranate. She tilted her head and bit into it, her eyebrows raising when she realized it tasted like kiwi.

"Weird..." she mumbled, taking a sip of water and continuing eating the food.

After she finished, she looked around, feeling full.

Legolas still wasn't back. She half considered going to look for him. But it was dark. Besides, what was she going to do? Besides be afraid and lost? Legolas was clearly _more_ than able to take care of himself. Her going into the darkness, feeling around and yelling, 'LEGOLAS!' like some weirdo would probably only cause him problems.

She frowned, crawling back over to her blanket and laying back with a full stomach. She pulled his cloak around herself, smiling when she could smell his sandalwood scent.

Her gaze became heavy, and she fell back asleep, smiling with his cloak against her face.

Like the creeper she was.

((O))

"Evie..."

Legolas' smooth voice slightly cut through her consciousness, making her smile. Not only did he look beautiful, he sounded it too.

"Evie." the voice repeated, and she felt smooth fingers touch her cheek, sending electric pulses from where they touched.

She moaned out and the fingers paused before being pulled away.

"No..." she whispered desperately, wanting the smooth touch to return. Why did he stop?

"You have to wake up."

She frowned. _Well_ that didn't sound very sexy.

Her eyes fluttered open, only to jolt in surprise to see Legolas leaning over her. The sun was dimly shining behind his golden head, making his hair practically sparkle. His gentle blue eyes were fixed on her, and his pale pink lips were set in a small smile.

_'I wouldn't mind waking up to that every morning..._' Evie mused to herself, blinking herself awake and he slowly raised.

"The sun has began to rise," he stated, looking around the forest. "If we leave now, we should arrive in Lothlorien before nightfall."

"Right..." she grumbled, sitting up with a moan. She was still sore, and she knew that sleeping on the ground hadn't been helping.

Wobbly standing, she stretched, popping her toes and back with an unladylike groan.

"By the way, you will be riding on Rohden with me today," Legolas said from Sebastian, strapping bags on him and making her freeze mid stretch.

"Uhm...what?" she asked, her heart speeding up. Was he trying to kill her? Why did she need to ride with him?

"With your muscles, it is ill advised that you should straddle a horse again the next day," he said, continuing to pack up. "you need to side ride, but you are not skilled enough to do that alone at a fast past. I will not have you falling off and breaking your neck."

"...B-but I-"

"If you feel you need to wash, I suggest you do it now or you won't have time," he interrupted, examining his bow. Clearly, he wasn't even going to listen to her debate. He'd made up his mind and there was no convincing him otherwise.

Evie pursed her lips, not liking that he was treating her like an incompetent child. He could at least_ ask_, and give her the illusion of control. She wouldn't have denied him anyway! Who was he to order her around like a five year old? She understood that he was just trying to help, but he could have went about it in a completely different way.

Not speaking, she snatched her bag off the ground, gaining his attention as she gave him a dirty look. He looked mildly surprised as she turned and stormed off towards the trees.

"You're going in the wrong direction."

She paused, hearing the barely restrained laughter in his voice.

Sighing, she turned her heel and started marching in the completely opposite direction, hearing him chuckling as she broke the trees.

_'Don't flip off a prince, don't flip off a prince...' _was her mantra as she approached a river. Luckily, it was calm, and she shouldn't have any issues.

Last thing she needed was to be swept away by a raging river.

* * *

**_Mani naa ta__\- what is it?_**

_**Esta sinome- rest here**_


	7. Chapter Seven: Until the End

**A/N: I just wanted to say I'm so thankful for those that have let me know how much they're enjoying this story! It REALLY motivates me to continue and always puts a smile on my face. So, thank you sooo much X D**

**Btw, I also wanted to say that I did rate this M for a reason. Pretty much all my stories have Lemons at some point. I'm not saying this chapter has lemons, so keep calm x D BUT, know that it WILL. What can I say? I like the smut : P When that does occur, I will warn at the beginning of the chapter. Anywho, I'll shut up now. Happy reading!**

* * *

**_Chapter Seven: Until the End_**

**_"Don't change the way you think of me_**  
**_ We're from the same story_**  
**_ Life moves on, can't stay the same_**  
**_ For some of us, I'm worried, yeah_**

**_ While some have gone their separate ways_**  
**_ There's some still caught up with the past_**  
**_ And stead to move on, you're missing most of your life_**  
**_ They say it's hard to stay the same_**  
**_ When some fail, while other men seem to gain, but friends_**  
**_ I'll be with you here until the end..."_**

* * *

"Fuck...shit – ass..._mother_!" Evie cursed to herself in the cold water, trying to quickly wash her hair and get the hell out. Half of her frustration was directed at an elf.

An elf prince, to be exact.

"Stupid, hot...elf—ass!" she huffed, getting out of the water and drying off before putting a white and gold dress on.

She worked a comb through her hair, cursing some more whenever she hit a knot.

"I'M SO SICK OF THIS SHIT!" she growled, kicking her bag and only succeeding in making it go several feet as her dress stopped it her from kicking properly.

"AND FUCK THIS DRESS!" she growled, reaching down and ripping the bag up, contemplating chucking it childishly against a tree. She knew she was being ridiculous. It wasn't even scary, more comical anger than anything. It was just everything was starting to build up, and she was starting to feel it all at once. She was sure that she hadn't dealt with the fact that she was in another world with no memories—at least on a conscious level. Not being able to remember anything made it easier in the sense of she didn't know what she was missing. But it also made it more sad.

Were there people that missed her? People that she would miss? What if she couldn't get back? The closer they got to Lothlorien, the more fear her mind was plagued with. _Anything_ could happen, and it was terrifying.

Her heart flinched at the thought of _leaving_ Legolas. What if his father summoned him and he'd be gone...then she wouldn't have him_ or _Tauriel.

She needed to vent somehow.

"You are fucking psycho," she nodded sarcastically to herself, "straight up, mother fucking psycho. If you think for _one minute_ that he even-"

"Do you talk to yourself often?"

She whipped around, almost tripping on her dress, only to see Legolas standing regally against a pine tree. His arms were crossed against his chest, giving her the arrogant, one brow thing.

She ignored his question.

"How long have you been standing there?" she snapped, pursing her lips as another arrogant brow raised to join the other.

"My, someone is rather grumpy this morning."

"Don't do that," she fumed, knowing she was being unfair, but she couldn't _help_ it. "don't fucking patronize me."

"..."

"Are you to bleed soon?" he asked, tilting his head curiously and adding fuel to her fire.

Actually, now that he mentioned it...she was thinking he was _actually _right. If the mild cramping in her stomach was anything to go by.

She sure as hell wasn't confirming the theory, though.

"Kiss my ass," she growled. "and I_ am _riding on Sebastian."

She stormed past him, gasping in shock when she felt a firm grip grab onto her arm and turn her. She gulped, facing a serious looking elf.

"You are not."

"Who the _hell_ do you think you are?" she snapped, jerking her arm out of his grasp. "you can't just order me around like some child! People have minds of their own, you know!"

His blue eyes narrowed. "What happened? Why are you acting this way?"

"You're not making me," she ignored him, snapping back and turning to walk away, only to have her arm grabbed again.

"It's for your own safety and well being," Legolas said with a forced calmness. "you can be irrational all you want, but you're riding _with me_."

"OH_ yeah_?" she challenged, glaring at him.

Not that she thought she'd win, but she'd be damned if she was just going to bend because he _said so_.

"Yes," he said seriously.

"_Well_, I'd like to see you – oopmmhh!" she gasped in shock as she was suddenly lifted in the air as though she weighed nothing—and sat on her stomach on his shoulder.

"Grrr – you put me _down_ dammit!" she smacked his muscular back, struggling.

"_Dina, Antolle ulua sulrim__—_be quiet Evie," Legolas said, sounding almost bored and not flinching as she wiggled on his shoulder.

"You put me _down_, Legolas!" Evie growled, humiliated. "this is undignified for a prince! I'm warning you-"

"_You're _warning me?" Legola's let out a bark of laughter as Evie saw that they were free of the forest.

"I will stab you in the ass," she hissed, hearing another bark of laughter erupt from him.

"Oh, Evie. How can I stay angry with you? You are far too amusing."

Her heart fluttered.

NO.

"No, I—Oopmh!" she gasped as she was suddenly sat sideways on Rohden, Legolas swiftly sliding behind her and pulling her back against his chest as both of her feet hung off one side.

She squirmed against him, but his grip was like iron around her waist.

"You're very feisty," he chuckled darkly as Rohden started a gallop, Sebastian following suit. "is there a point to continue to struggle? I'm not letting go."

Much to her degradation, she stopped struggling, letting out a dramatic sigh and she crossed her arms across her chest in a pout.

"_Lle tela? Diola lle, __Lirimaer,_" he cooed quietly right beside her ear, making a shiver go through her as pleasurable chills went down her body.

"You play dirty," she grumbled, huffing as she felt his warmth creep into her back, slightly relaxing her. Luckily, there was no skin to skin contact. That was the last thing she needed right now.

"You enjoy it," she could almost _hear_ his smirk. "do not lie, Evie."

"I never lie."

"Then why are you so angry? What happened?" he asked cleverly.

"..."

"None of your business, and that's the truth!" she spat.

He roared in laughter behind her, shocking her so violently that if he hadn't been holding onto her, she surely would have fallen off the horse.

"_Aiya! _I have not laughed that way in many decades," he continued to chuckle lightly, making her heart lift that it had been _her _to make him smile that way. "_Diola lle,_ Genevieve."

"What happened to Evie?" she squeaked, her mind blown that she could make him laugh like that. Was it really that funny? Did he think she was funny? That was good, right?

"Mmm – I like your full name more," he commented thoughtfully. "it comes from my mouth well-"

_'Damn right it does.'_

"I had only been calling you Evie because it is what you wanted," he chuckled, and she felt him next to her ear, making her eyes widen and her body freeze.

"Now, its time for what I want," he whispered lowly in her ear, sending more shivers down her spine.

If she wasn't sane, she'd think he was..._flirting _with her. That...that was _impossible_, wasn't it? She blinked furiously, lightly shaking her head. Was she crazy? Of course he wasn't flirting. He was just...being playful. Friends were playful with each other. Duh.

"You always get what you want I'm sure, _Prince_," she finished sarcastically. "I'm on this horse with you, aren't I?"

"You would be surprised at how often I _don't_ get what I want _because_ I'm a Prince," he corrected her, sounding somewhat sad and making her frown.

Well, shit. Now she was making him sad. That took a drastic turn.

"Like...what?" she asked lamely, feeling somewhat awkward. And honestly, a little sad just from hearing the sadness in his beautiful voice.

God, she was so_ lame_.

"Are you going to sing to Sebastian today?" he asked, completely ignoring her question and making her roll her eyes. "since you are not riding him, you need to comfort him. Please refrain from excessively annoying words."

She snorted in an unladylike fashion. If she didn't want to look like a lesbian, she'd show him by rapping. But listening to her rap about fucking bitches may not be appealing to him. Or maybe it would. Guys did have that two girl fantasy-

"Genevieve?"

_'Clubbing hard, fuckin' women ain't much to do—Still getting brain from a thang, ain't shit changed. Oh yeah. He'd love that.' _she laughed internally.

"Evie?"

"Oh," she shook her head, coming out of her thoughts only to go right back to thinking of a song.

"Are you going to sing or not?" he asked after a pause, sounding impatient.

"Calm down, _your highness_," she rolled her eyes. "Do you have any idea how many songs I know? Thousands!"

"...do you really?"

"Uh, yeah," she shrugged. "I love music. I don't remember...listening to it but I know all the songs. I know a lot of love songs."

"Then sing one of those," he suggested quietly.

"That's what I've mostly been doing," she pouted. "I'm starting to feel lame as fuck."

"Just sing one, Genevieve," he chuckled, sounding exasperated.

"I'll be kind, if you'll be faithful  
You be sweet and I'll be grateful  
Cover me with kisses dear  
Lighten up the atmosphere  
Keep me warm inside our bed  
I got dreams of you all through my head  
Fortune teller said I'd be free  
And that's the day you came to me  
Came to me..."

she paused for a moment, and Legolas was silent.

"Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo..." she sang jokingly, tilting her head side to side. This was proof that he was making her bipolar. She was having _serious_ ups and downs. She. Couldn't. Stay. Mad!

"Come to me my sweetest friend  
Can you feel my heart again  
I'll take you back where you belong  
And this will be our favorite song  
Come to me with secrets bare  
I'll love you more so don't be scared  
When we're old and near the end  
We'll go home and start again."

She glanced over at Sebastian trotting beside them, smiling when she saw the horses head slightly turned towards her, looking happy and very little betrayed.

She grinned at him and giggled before continuing.

"I caught you burnin' photographs  
Like that could save you from your past  
History is like gravity  
It holds you down away from me  
You and me, we've both got sins  
I don't care about where you've been  
Don't be sad and don't explain  
This is where we start again  
Start again..."

"God, I didn't realize this song was so long until now," she grumbled, looking at Sebastian and feeling so guilty that she continued.

"Come to me my sweetest friend  
Can you feel my heart again?  
I'll take you back where you belong  
And this will be our favorite song  
Come to me with secrets bare  
I'll love you more so don't be scared  
When we're old and near the end  
We'll go home and start again  
Start again."

She grinned as Sebastian neighed happily, making her giggle at him and shake her head.

"Was that by...the dolls?" Legolas questioned cutely after a pause making her chuckle.

"The Goo Goo Dolls," Evie corrected chuckling at the elf.

"What a ridiculous name," he commented dryly, falling silent as he adjusted his hold on her waist, causing her to gulp thickly and close her eyes to calm her senses.

She had not idea how long they sat there in silence, her just enjoying his arm around her, knowing it would never happen again...she tried to enjoy his touch as much as she could.

"We're close," Legola's commented quietly after a while, leaving her to believe she had actually dozed off.

She opened her eyes, noticing they were slowly moving through a lit, beautiful wooded area.

"The woods are so beautiful here..." she commented quietly, looking around at the pure light breaking all around them through the trees.

"I wish you could have seen Mirkwood many years ago," Legolas said quietly. "It was this, if not more, splendid."

"How long ago?" Evie asked, realizing she didn't really know how _old _Legolas was.

"Around 1,000 years ago," he said off offhandedly.

"..."

"YOU'RE A THOUSAND YEARS OLD?" she gasped loudly, feeling the elf jump behind her. She didn't even know why she was surprised, she knew that the elves were immortal. Legolas himself had talked about elves living thousands of years. It was just...God, he must be ancient.

"Much more than that," he chuckled, making her jaw drop.

"How old are you? Damn!"

"Guess."

"Really?" she rolled her eyes. This is _exactly_ what she was talking about. Thousand years old her ass!

"Two thousand?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Older."

"Three thousand?"

"You're not good at this," he commented dryly.

"Three-thousand years, two months, three weeks, four days, five hours, twenty minutes and thirteen seconds," she said sarcastically. "am I right?"

"What if I said you were?" he whispered against her ear again, making her shiver even though she rallied almost at once.

"...I-I'd say you're a fucking liar."

"I am two-thousand, eight-hundred and ninety-one years old," he said matter of factually.

She whipped her head around so fast, her hair smacked him in the face.

"Get. Out." she said, watching him raise the ever popular arrogant eyebrow.

"That is my age," he said slowly, his eyes flicking over her smiling expression.

"..."

"You're_ old_!" she said loudly, busting into uncontrollable laughter.

He gave her a bland look, not amused at all. Which, of course, only made her laugh harder.

"I am actually quite young for an elf," he offered, looking at though he hoped that would make her stop laughing at him.

_Nope. _

"You're old enough to be my ancestor. Nope, you're a geezer," she stuck her tongue out at him, watching as his eyes flicked to her tongue and back to her eyes.

She turned around, smiling at herself. She could have sworn she heard him mutter, 'I'm not old.'

She almost felt bad—_almost_.

_'Welcome, Genevieve Maria Kavanagh.' _

"Eek!" Evie jumped violently, making Legolas let go of the reign and hold onto her arm.

"What is it?" he asked hurriedly, sounding concerned.

Evie's mind was racing. There was a voice inside her mind. A voice that wasn't hers. It was as though someone had been talking to her, but she knew only she heard it.

"Maria Kavanagh...that is the rest of my name," she whispered, realization hitting her like bricks. Yes, that _was_ her name.

"Galadriel..." she heard Legolas whisper behind her, feeling him relax.

"T-that was her?" Evie said, feeling slightly more relaxed. She wasn't nuts. That was good to know.

Evie looked down, running her hand through Rohden's soft mane and thinking about her name. She felt them stop and she looked up.

She gasped loudly, clutching her heart when she saw they were surrounded by elves.

A long, blonde haired elf stepped forward.

"Prince Legolas," he inclined his head, bowing lightly. "we've come to escort you."

"_Doila lle, _Haldir," Legolas said smoothly from behind her as she stared at the elf, before her eyes darted around to the guards. "this is Lady Genevieve."

"A pleasure," Haldir said, giving her a smile and inclining his head. "come, she is waiting."

The soldiers surrounded them as they began walking slowly through the woods. Evie's heart was racing.

_'This is it...' _She thought in a panicked voice.

"Relax, Genevieve," Legolas purred in her ear, making her startle for moments as his arm tightened securely around her waist.

"I can't. You're going to leave me," she blurted, slapping her hand over her mouth in horror.

"..."

"I will not leave you," he whispered quietly in her ear. "as long as you need me, I will be here."

"But if your father summons you..." she trailed off, her heart throbbing in her chest.

"I will not leave until you tell me to. You have my word. How is that?" he asked quietly, making her limbs slowly relax at his words. A small smile lit up her face. Even if he didn't like her..._that way—_His devotion as a friend was truly special and meant everything to her.

_'Get ready to hang around for the rest of...my life.' _Evie thought bitterly. But no, she couldn't never be _that_ selfish with a dear friend like Legolas.

Her eyes widened in wonder as they approached a city made out of trees. There were large, winding staircases leading far up into the forest, beautiful homes built around the trees, all intricately carved. In many ways, it was more splendid than even the woodland realm.

"Wow..." she muttered as they came to a stop.

Legolas jumped down, putting his hands on her hips and lifting her down from the horse as she blushed furiously.

Suddenly, Sebastian was nuzzling her face, making her giggle and stroke his face.

"I didn't not ride you by choice, Sebby," Evie smiled as the horse happily licked his mistresses hand.

"Lady Genevieve," Haldir said, drawing her attention to the handsome elf. "Lady Galadriel is waiting. She wishes to speak with you—alone."

Evie's eyes widened, fear coursing through her body as she looked to Legolas in question. Should she trust this guy?

He gave her a warm smile, nodding encouragingly to follow him. She nodded, peeling her stare away to see Haldir looking at them curiously for moments before he smiled at her.

"Please, follow me."

She nodded nervously, keeping her eyes on Haldir's back as he led her into what appeared to be some kind of stone garden. There were beautiful cement statues around, and in the middle was a clear pool of some sort, covered in vines.

Her eyes fell on a white figure facing away from her, golden waves tumbling down her back.

"Thank you, Haldir."

Evie's throat constricted at the beautiful, elegant voice. It was as though angels were singing to her.

"My lady," Haldir bowed, leaving quickly.

Evie was silent, waiting for the elleth to turn around. The only sound she could hear was water running and birds chirping.

Should she speak? She didn't want to be rude. Her nerves were on high as she fidgeted in place.

"You have many questions that I do not have the answers to."

Evie jumped when the elleth suddenly spoke, watching with wide eyes as she turned to face her, an angelic smile on her perfect, pale face. Her skin seemed to glow with radiance, her blue eyes sparkling at her. Her sleek, golden waves framed her perfect face and slender body. She was dressed in pure white robes, that only adding to her angelic beauty. In short, she was the most beautiful female Evie had _ever _seen. Even more beautiful than Tauriel...

"I do have some," she continued, walking closer to the silent mortal girl. "your memories are not in my hands."

Evie swallowed, feeling disappointed.

"Um, then who's hands are they in?" she asked, her voice slightly high pitched as Galadriel's smile widened.

"Have you heard of fate?" she asked, turning away and swaying around the pool as she looked into the water.

"Fate? Um, yeah...its not real-"

"You would say Elves were not real very few suns ago," Galadriel interrupted, pointing it out with a smile in her direction.

_'Well, then. Touche.'_

"Fate is...a person?" Evie asked, confused.

"A person..." Galadriel looked upwards, looking thoughtful. "no, fate is everywhere. Everything has purpose. There is a plan for all things."

Evie just stood there, dumbfounded. Was this actually _supposed_ to make sense to her? Or was she just _really_ friggin' stupid?

"All journeys were preordained thousands of years ago," Galadriel smiled at her confused expression. "even you."

"Then...what happens?"

Galadriel chuckled beautifully. "only the journey is told; not the destination."

"How convenient," Evie sighed. "but...if its fate—then its already destined...and if its destined, then why is the destination not known—what the _hell_ am I even saying?" Evie groaned, rubbing her face as she was confusing herself.

"you are very smart, Genevieve," Galadriel said encouragingly. "fate knows the journey. This is your journey," she smiled, gesturing around, "however, fate knows where your purpose resides. It is only fates job that you _begin_ the journey to _reach_ the destination."

"So..." Evie shifted on her feet awkwardly, feeling dumb...and ugly. "fate...pulled me from my world?"

"Yes," Galadriel smiled.

"...am I the only one?"

"To be pulled into middle earth, yes," Galadriel smiled. "there are infinite realities, dimensions, _worlds_ even. It is more than even _I _can wrap my mind around."

"If...if I was meant to be here," Evie rubbed her temples. "then..._why_ be on earth in the first place? And why take my memories of it?"

"That is a fine question."

"..."

Evie just stood there awkwardly. This _wasn't _helping. This wasn't what she expected at all. Why did it have to be so complex? She expected her to just hand her her memories on a silver platter, then show her a portal to earth or some shit.

"So...I _can't _have my memories back?"

"That is for fate to decide," Galadriel smiled. "I believe you will, but only when you are ready to see them. When you see your destination, I believe it is then you will remember," she looked off into the distance. "I believe that if you knew your past, it would hinder you from reaching your destination properly. Fate cannot allow this."

"When I first woke..." Evie frowned. "I suddenly knew my name."

"Yes, that was fate allowing it," Galadriel smiled. "as it allowed me to see your entire name. It is possible that over time, it will allow you to see other things. It all depends on whether it will help you—or not."

"Has it allowed you to see anything else about me?"

"I see that which is not hidden," she said quietly, giving her a somber expression.

"Which is...what?" Evie asked uncertainly.

"Matters of the heart as so very complex," she smiled, continuing her pace around the garden and making Evie follow her.

Evie's heart raced.

Legolas.

She _knew._

"But...what purpose could I possibly have here?" Evie asked, relatively nothing making sense.

"I do not know," Galadriel stopped, giving her an encouraging smile. "but you do. We will speak again soon. But heed this warning: things are not always as they seem. You would do well to remember that, Genevieve."

"What?" Evie blinked. She couldn't leave! Now all she had was MORE questions! What in the actual fuck was happening?

"I'm more confused than I was to begin with!" Evie said quickly, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.

"You understand all that you need to for now. My home is your home...and Prince Legolas." Galadriel smiled, walking into the woods and disappearing without another word.

"Thanks..." Evie said, staring off into the woods after the beauty for how long...she didn't even know.

Well, that was a big bunch of confusing. She sighed, rubbing her temples. She supposed she expected too much. The more she thought about it, she wondered why she expected so much from the elleth. She was an elf. She may be special, but it wasn't like she was a God or something. Evie knew she was impatient, and she was just expecting way too much. However, she couldn't stop herself from being very let down at the turn of events.

She turned around finally, looking around as she walked through the garden. She needed to find Legolas and tell him what happened.

She twisted through trees, awkwardly smiling and saying, 'hello' to random elves she passed. All of which mostly just gave her confused expressions.

She neared a bank, seeing two blonde heads in the distance. She was sure that one was Legolas as she approached. The closer she got, she could hear their voices and with a thrill, realized one was indeed Legolas. The were speaking in elvish.

She stayed behind a tree, not wanting to interrupt. It wasn't like she was eavesdropping. She didn't know elvish!

"_Nae Saian Luume, Legolas_, _Mellonmin_," Evie hears who she recognized the voice of Haldir.

"_Peditham hi sui vellyn?" _

Evie frowned, hearing that Legolas was quiet for moments.

"_Mankoi?" _Legolas responded after a pause. It sounded serious.

_'FUCK WHY DON'T I KNOW ELVISH?' _Evie cursed internally.

"_Lle fiose," _Haldir responded. "_i' Edan..."_

"_Amin elea..." _Legolas responded rather blandly, making Evie hate her lack of knowledge now more than anything. She was trying hopelessly to remember the words so maybe she could look them up later...

"_Mani nae lle umien_?" Haldir spoke quickly.

"..._Mani_?" Legolas responded, sounding confused.

Haldir sighed.

"My Lord-"

Evie's eyes widened. Westron! Elves seemed to go back and forth from elvish to Westron—she had noticed. Lucky for her.

"How you look upon-"

"Is not of your concern, _Mellonmin,_" Legolas cut in, sounding somewhat serious.

"..._Manke tanya tuula_?" Haldir said in a sad voice, making Legolas sigh.

"_Amin hiraetha_," Legolas said quietly.

"_Heruamin—_you do not...desire her, do you?"

Evie's heart lurched painfully in her chest. Desire _who_? _Who_ did Legolas desire? Galadriel? Another elleth here? Her heart was racing madly as her ears were met with complete silence.

Legolas was denying nothing; but he was confirming nothing at the same time. Evie's heart was slowly breaking more and more, the longer he kept his silence.

There was an elleth here that had his attention – that he desired.

"_Tenna' ento lye omenta_—_Quel esta_, _Mellonmin,_" Legolas said in a friendly voice.

Evie broke. She didn't know what he said, but she just _knew_ it wasn't a denial. Without thinking, she instantly took off in the other direction, running through the elven city, not even knowing where she was going.

_'You do not...desire her, do you?' _repeated like a mantra in her mind. She didn't even realize tears were leaking down her face.

She was stupid. She knew she was. Why was she even crying? What was even going through her mind? As though Legolas had some sort of, what,_ commitment _to her? She was just a lowly human child to him. He was an _elven prince_. Did she subconsciously hope there was a way? Maybe she did. But whatever she had so childishly hoped, was crushed.

* * *

_Lle tela__\- Are you finished?_

_Diola lle__\- Thank you_

_Lirimaer__\- lovely one_

_Aiya!__\- Oh!_

_Nae Saian Luume- it has been too long_

_Mellonmin- my friend_

_Peditham hi sui vellyn?- _May we speak as friends now?

_Mankoi- why?_

_Lle fiose- you surprised me_

_i' Edan- the human _

_Amin elea- I see..._

_Mani nae lle umien?- What have you been doing? _

_Mani?- What? _

_Manke tanya tuula- Where did that come from?_

_Amin hiraetha- I am sorry_

_Heruamin- My Lord_

_Tenna' ento lye omenta__\- Until next we meet _

_Quel esta__\- Rest well_

* * *

**A/N: I'm not even saying how long it took me to make that tiny conversation. Ah, if only Google translate had elvish, hmm.  
**


	8. Chapter Eight: Taking Over Me

**A/N: I am posting a link to Imgur to my profile page. I have an album of my OC's, so everyone can place a name to a face (including Evie!) Now, it _is_ a different girl than in the cover image of this story. I plan to rectify that. This girl was the closest I could find that matched the Evie in my mind : ) I came to realize that when you have a specific person in mind, it is HARD to find someone that even _closely_ matches it. Oh, how I wish I could draw! Anyway, if you're interested in seeing the OC's, you should check it out! I'll add more as more OC's are revealed.  
**

* * *

_**Chapter Eight: Taking Over Me**_

"_**I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you  
But who can decide what they dream?  
And dream I do...**_

_**I believe in you**_  
_**I'll give up everything just to find you**_  
_**I have to be with you to live, to breathe**_  
_**You're taking over me**_

_**Have you forgotten all I know**_  
_**And all we had?**_  
_**You saw me mourning my love for you**_  
_**And touched my hand**_  
_**I knew you loved me then..."**_

* * *

Evie found a small, secluded area with a branch and running waterfall. She collapsed on the bank, holding her face as sobs wracked her body.

She felt so pathetic. She knew she had no reason to react this way, but she couldn't help the sorrow from completely consuming her. Why did she care so much? Legolas _wasn't_ hers – _never_ would be hers. It didn't matter who he fancied, or didn't fancy. Even if he liked no one, he would not like her. She barely knew him, but she felt as though...she did. It was like she'd known the elf her entire life.

Everything – what Galadriel had told her, hearing that Legolas fancied an elf – maybe even Galadriel herself – was just too much to bear. She was only human after all. How much could she take? She supposed its what she deserved, eavesdropping on Legolas.

The more she tried to tell herself not to care, the more she did care. She tried to bury the grief, only to have it spring back and hit her in the face – metaphorically speaking, of course.

How could she even face Legolas now? Just look at him and start crying like the lunatic she was?

She rubbed and rubbed her eyes, sniffling loudly.

"My Dear..."

Evie gasped, hearing a gentle, feminine voice behind her. She whipped around, seeing an elleth dressed in white standing there. Her long black hair fell to her waist and her sky blue eyes were looking at the quivering mortal with great concern.

"You cry as one with a broken heart," she said sadly, holding out a pale hand to her. "Do not despair, child. Come with me." she offered her a gentle, encouraging smile.

Evie sniffed, looking at the elleth with wary eyes. Should she go with her? The elves have been nothing but kind to her, so she supposed it wouldn't hurt.

She put her clammy hand in the Elleth's cool hand, allowing her to help pull her to her feet.

"My name is Nethina," she smiled warmly. "you are lady Genevieve, the human that arrived with Prince Legolas, are you not?"

At the mention of his name, Evie burst into fresh tears, alarming the elleth in front of her as she buried her face in her hands to hide her shame.

After moments, Evie tensed, feeling soft arms envelop her.

"There there, child," the elleth cooed. "do not despair."

"I-I'm s-sorry," Evie cried, trying to suck it up and feeling extremely pathetic.

"There is no need for apologies, child," the elleth cooed, stroking her hair. "Prince Legolas is looking for you-"

"No!" Evie gasped, pulling away from her and shaking her head quickly.

The Elleth raised an eyebrow, looking momentarily shocked. Evie couldn't...let him_ see her_ like this. She wasn't ready. She needed a little time...or she was going to fall apart in front of him.

"I don't want him to see me like this," she said bitterly, looking down.

"I shall hide you from him then," the elf said happily, making Evie's head whip up and giving the suddenly mischievous looking elf a surprised expression.

"Y-you'd do that?" Evie asked, still looking stunned.

"Of course!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. "the Prince and I know each other well. I use to play with his mother as children. I watched him as a child." she chuckled, making Evie's jaw drop.

The lady didn't look over...23! And she had to know she was at least 3,000 years old!

"It would give me immense pleasure to see him running around, desperately looking for you," she chuckled with a twinkle in her eye. "we best hurry, though! He will find us!"

Evie's mouth was still hanging open and the elleth grabbed her hand as they started running through the woods. Despite herself, Evie couldn't help but to laugh when the elleth would look around suspiciously.

As they approached a long, spiraling staircase, the elleth turned.

"I can hear him asking guards if they've seen you," she commented quietly, making Evie's heart lurch. "hurry!" she exclaimed quietly as Evie followed suit, rushing up the staircase and only stumbling multiple times.

"Welcome to my home," she smiled, gesturing Evie through a vine, oak door. Evie walked in to see one, large open room. There was a bed in the far corner, next to balcony doors that were open. There was various furniture around the room – tables, chairs and vanities with mirrors. In the other far corner, there was a large, white stone bath.

"Would you like to bathe?" Nethina asked, smiling at her.

"Why do I stink?" Evie chuckled.

"Slightly."

"...oh," Evie flushed, looking down. "In that case—yes, I'd like to bathe."

"I was only joking," Nethina smiled. "actually, you smell _much_ better than humans I've encountered before. You must bathe as often as elves."

"Er – thanks," Evie chuckled as she led her to the bath, which had water in it to Evie's surprise. "In my world, a lot of people bathe daily."

"What a clean place," Nethina smiled, pouring something from a glass jar in the water and causing the smell of freesia to cloud the room. "I would much like this world."

For the first real time, Evie felt a pang of homesickness. She didn't even flinch when Nethina pulled her dress over her head and helped her into the warm water. The first warm bath in days and Evie couldn't stop the small smile from gracing her features.

Nethina knelt down next to her, looking at her hair.

"May I?" she asked, gesturing towards Evie's hair.

"Uh – yeah, sure," Evie shrugged.

"Your hair is quite an unusual color for this world," she said quietly, running her fingers through the messy locks. "it looks so dark, but in the light, its radiant as that of almost fire."

"Is...is it bad?" Evie asked, looking at Nethina as she poured a pitcher of water on her hair.

"Of course not, dear," Nethina smiled, working her fingers around her scalp. "I think it is very lovely, just like you." she said kindly, touching her chin for moments.

"You're just being nice," Evie muttered, looking down at the water. It was so strange. This elleth...looked so young, but was _so old_. She acted so young, but at the same time, she acted like a kind grandmother. Evie was really starting to like her. There was a wisdom about her that was similar that Galadriel posessed, but not quite as intense as being in Galadriels presence.

"I am being nice. But just because I am nice, it does not mean I am not also honest," Nethina pointed out, smiling as she rinsed her hair and grabbed a sponge. She lathered it and began scrubbing Evie's arm.

"Thank you..." she said quietly, smiling at the elleth.

"Child...who is it that your heart despairs over? Is it Prince Legolas?" she asked quietly, making Evie's eyes widen in horror.

"N-No!" she instantly denied on instinct.

"..."

"Please, do not lie to me."

Evie felt sudden guilt, making her sigh. "I am sorry...yes, its – its over him." she finished, flushing.

"...does he know your compassion for him?" Nethina asked gently, continuing to scrub.

"...no," Evie answered bitterly, pursing her lips. "He can never know-"

"Why?"

"Because he is my friend," Evie whispered. "If-if I said anything to make him uncomfortable, or anything to make him turn away from me...I'd never forgive myself."

"I think you do not have enough faith in the object of your desire," Nethina said kindly. "as a Prince, Legolas has had many elleths share his bed, but-"

Evie sharply inhaled, pain shooting through her system at the thought.

"I am sorry, Genevieve," Nethina said quickly, feeling the girls pain. "that was thoughtless of me. I truly am sorry."

"No..." Evie cleared her throat, shaking her head. "It-its alright. Its true, anyways. Maybe I need to hear it."

"No, it was callous of me," Nethina said resolutely. "but, what I was going to say was that I have known him since he was a wee elf. He has a kind soul. He cares for you and he does not turn his back on his friends. If Legolas is anything – its loyal."

"There's no reason for him to know," Evie frowned. "It wouldn't make a difference. It would just make me feel self conscious around him. I don't need that."

"I wish I could change your mind, young one," Nethina sighed, finishing up washing. "you do not want to live with regrets."

"Exactly," Evie smiled as she helped her out of the tub and to dry off. She gave her a white silken robe, and Evie slid the soft garment over herself, smiling at how luxurious it felt. She took notice that it was getting dark outside.

"I cannot wait to style your hair," Nethina smiled, sitting Evie down at a stool and then running a comb gently through her hair. "would you object to a cut?"

Evie frowned, looking at her long hair. The ends were slightly frayed and damaged. She knew she'd benefit from one, and besides, the elleth probably knew best.

"Do whatever you think will look good," Evie nodded, making Nethina's eyes light up as she grabbed a blade, making Evie slightly tense. She supposed there were no scissors here.

After a few minutes of studying, Nethina started cutting locks off quickly, making Evie feel nervous. When she was finished, her hair was a little past the tops of her breasts.

"Do you like it?" Nethina asked happily as Evie touched her hair. It was shorter, but it seemed to be more..._tamed _cut this way.

She smiled and nodded.

"Excellent!" Nethina smiled, grabbing various bottles and running things through her hair.

When she was finished, Evie's mouth fell open in shock. Her hair was dry and stick _straight_. It was sleeker than any flat iron could ever achieve.

"That's...that's amazing!" she gasped, running her fingers through her hair in approval.

"I'm glad-" Nethina's eyes widened, "I'll return!" she said quickly, rushing from the room and out the door before Evie could object.

Shaking her head, she stood from the stool, looking down at the sheer robe. No leaving dressed like that, that was for sure. Sighing to herself, she made her way onto the balcony, watching from a great height as white lights started to illuminate the forest all around her. It truly was beautiful to see, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as the wind lightly danced through her hair and across her skin.

"You frightened me."

Evie's eyes instantly snapped open, whipping around to see a very angry eleven prince, glaring at her. He was out of his battle gear, wearing a silver tunic instead of the emerald green and brown clothing.

Her heart lurched into her throat at the sight of him, her eyes widening as his gaze danced over her and lingered on her hair with a frown.

"What have you done to your hair?" he asked, tilting his head and approaching her quickly. She gasped and backed into the railing, clutching it with her hands as he stopped in front of her.

He reached his hand up, making her gasp again as he lightly fingered the straight strands with a thoughtful expression—Though she could still see the anger in his eyes as his ice gaze snapped from her hair to her eyes.

"I...Nethina cut it-"

"Not that, the locks," he interrupted, frowning.

"They're straight-"

"I can see that," he cut in again, giving her a bald look. "I prefer your hair natural, but it does not matter."

Evie was quiet, too stunned and..._hurt_ to speak. Why was he up here with her? Shouldn't he be wooing some beautiful elf? Not wasting his time with some ugly human girl.

"Why did you hide from me?" he demanded, looking furious all over again.

"I-I wasn't-"

"Do not lie to me," he said roughly, his ice eyes narrowing. "I have never lied to you – you could spare me the same courtesy. Why did you have me worry for you?"

"I...just needed to be alone," she said quietly, unable to meet his gaze anymore as she looked down. It wasn't entirely untrue.

"You were not alone. You were with Nethina," he instantly responded, sounding testy. "I know she helped hide you from me."

"..."

She gasped, feeling cool fingers slide under her chin, pulling her face up to look at him. She closed her eyes, inhaling sharply as the tingles instantly shot from his touch, making her body shiver.

"Look at me," he demanded quietly as she opened her eyes instantly.

He was looking down at her with a concerned expression, the anger slowly fading from his handsome features.

"Your eyes..." he said quietly. "you have cried."

"N-no-"

"I said, please don't lie to me," Legolas interrupted, sounding more sad than angry this time.

She didn't like where this was going. She didn't like how he could see right through her. It wasn't fair – it wasn't right. God, couldn't she have any privacy?

"Legolas..._Please_," she said quietly, closing her eyes and fighting the urge to throw herself in his arms. Even though he had desire for someone else…

She knew her expression broke at her thoughts.

"Evie..." Legolas said quietly. "please...tell me what is wrong. I cannot help if I do not know."

"You cannot help," her voice broke as she felt his hand drop from her chin and his presence slowly back away.

It wasn't true, not really. He could help, but it would involve things he simply did not feel, so therefore, he couldn't.

She opened her eyes, looking at him to see a pained look on his face. It only made her heart break even more. How could she tell him what she heard? She couldn't...she just –_ couldn't_.

"Is it what Galadriel said?" he asked quietly, clearly not being able to drop it.

"Part of it," came out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She instantly turned around, holding onto the wooden railing and taking a deep breath.

"Are you...displeased with me?"

Was she? That wouldn't be fair. Was she supposed to be angry with Legolas because he didn't see her that way? No. that would make her the shittiest person in middle earth. She could never be mad at him for something like that. It didn't mean that it didn't hurt _like hell_, though.

"No," she moaned, rubbing her face with her hands. "I'm just...I'm stupid, Legolas. I'm sorry."

She felt his presence directly behind her, making her stiffen as her heart raced.

"Do not say such things," he said quietly.

_Why _was he doing this? She didn't understand why he was wasting his time with her. Unless…

_'No, no, no! Do NOT go there! You're only going to get hurt!' _

Unless he was talking about her with Haldir.

She growled inside her mind. That was..._no_, that wasn't possible, was it? It was just her having wishful thinking.

"You—you wouldn't rather be...elsewhere, right now?" she asked in spite of herself, playing detective.

He was quiet for moments. But she knew it was a confused quiet, not a contemplative one.

"I have spent all afternoon looking for you," he answered slowly. "now that I have found you, why would I want to be elsewhere?"

"You must have – many friends here that you...wish to see?" she asked timidly, twisting her hands in front of her and knowing she was sucking really bad at this.

"I actually have few friends in Lothlorien," Legolas answered, and she felt him move beside her, leaning down on the railing. "I have seen Haldir and now I have seen Nethina and her husband. I'm afraid there are not many others I am interested in seeing."

"Galadriel?" she asked, picking the wood and trying to look nonchalant.

"I respect her greatly," he said after a pause. "her and her husband have been friends with the woodland realm for many, many centuries."

Husband.

"I like Nethina," Evie smiled, her heart lifting somewhat. Though she still didn't believe it was about her, she felt more confronted that maybe there was _not_ an elleth here that he desired…

"As do I," he chuckled. "even though she has conspired against me to hide you. I knew an elf had helped you. If you had been alone, I would have found you."

"...I'm sorry," she said quietly, legitimately meaning it.

"Do not be," she could almost hear his smile. "I am simply glad you are safe."

"Galadriel didn't help me," she said in a rush. "she said a whole lot about fate, and how my destiny was fated here—for some reason. And that I may or may not get my memories of my home back when I see my destination here."

Legolas was quiet for a while, and she remained quiet as well, leaving him to his thoughts.

"That does not sound very helpful," he said eventually, making her turn to him. "however, I suppose what she meant was that all will be revealed at the right time."

Evie shook her head at him, a smile curling her lips. His eyes flicked down to her mouth before a smile curled on his lips as well, making her heart flutter.

"I am destined to be queen of middle earth!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out dramatically. "I will spare you, friend." she pointed to him as he chuckled.

"You could be queen. Perhaps not of middle earth, but a queen."

"Queen of what, exactly?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

His smile slightly fell as he turned away before speaking.

"You are special—from another world," he answered quietly, looking over Lothlorien. "there are kings of men. Some of which would take you as a wife."

"But I don't want them," she said in a rush, _completely_ _appalled_ by the idea.

He glanced over his shoulder at her, a small smile on his face.

"And why is that, Genevieve?"

"I – I just don't want them..."

"You have not met kings of men. How can you say that you do not want any of them?" he chuckled, but it sounded dry.

_'Because I want you.' _

She saw an opportunity, and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to take it.

"What about you?" she asked, dodging his question. "What elleth will be your princess and queen?"

"My mate," he answered instantly, continuing to look across the woods.

"But, Tauriel said elves could fall in love with someone that is not their mate-"

"That is true," he said bitterly, making her heart lurch. Of course...he had emotions for Tauriel, or _did_.

"I had feelings of love for Tauriel," he admitted after a silent pause, surprising her. "but she was not my mate. I knew that; even then."

"H-how did you know?" she asked, trying to appear not as interested as she actually was.

"Because she did not love me in return," he chuckled, not sounding bitter at all. "I know now that it was mostly infatuation. I wanted the one that did not want me. I was enthralled by her, but I was not consumed by her. As a mate should be."

"So, you're the guy that only wants the girl that doesn't want him?" she asked, rolling her eyes. It was moments like these when she was reminded that he was an arrogant ass at times.

"I am a Prince," he said plainly. "so many females throw themselves at me because of that. I felt that with Tauriel, I could have something real. That she would love me for who I was, not my title."

Evie stuck out her bottom lip, suddenly feeling bad. Well, that _did _make sense. She wanted to say she'd want him even if he was a friggin blacksmith. Actually, the fact that he was a prince made her feel _uncomfortable_. It made her feel even less worthy of him than she would have already felt. She was no princess—far from it.

"Well, there's a lot of women out there that will love you for you," Evie smiled. "you're a wonderful person. I'm sure not all see you that way-"

He was looking at her intensely, making her stop and blink.

"What?" she asked, giving him a weird look. What was with that expression?

"You're odd, Evie," he said slowly. "as for a female like you, I would not be surprised if you saw being a Prince as a _fault._"

Her eyebrows raised in shock as her mouth dropped open. Apparently, her expression gave her away as a smile curled his lips. He knew that she _did_ indeed think that way.

"Well...not a _fault_," she blubbered. "I just...I'm not a princess and I'd feel...inadequate."

"It would not make you feel more important?" he asked, tilting his head.

She pursed her lips. "No, it would not." she answered, completely honest.

His icy eyes flicked over her for moments, looking gentle and making her heart spike and beat harshly against her chest.

"You are strange."

Her heart fell. Well, _that _wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear.

"Thanks, you're _so _sweet," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "when you find your mate, you should tell her that. Well, after it takes you a million years to realize her since you're the guy."

"That's not necessarily true," he commented. "It's true that the female feels it instantly, but the male can vary. Some have taken centuries, whereas others have taken merely hours. Is that what Tauriel told you?"

"Oh, yeah..." Evie smiled. "she said it takes the male way longer."

"Hmm, it was probably just that way with her parents," he smiled. "but my parents loved each other almost instantly."

Evie frowned. Parents...his mother. She had met no queen. Did that mean-

"My mother died."

Evie's eyes widened at the sadness in his voice, trying desperately to resist the urge to reach out and touch him.

"I-I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," he said, looking at her with a sad smile. "It was many years ago now. I have accepted it."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Nethina's voice suddenly sounded from behind her and she turned to see the elf smiling at the pair, her eyes twinkling as Evie instantly blushed.

"My lady, you need to dress and come eat," she said worriedly, Evie taking note of the white gown in her arms. "you'll get sick."

"Oh…" Evie said, looking down at the semi sheer robe, flushing and crossing her arms over her chest. Even if it was a little late for that, it didn't stop her. She pretended that Legolas HADN'T been able to see the outline of her body.

Evie jumped almost violently as she felt her hand being grabbed gently. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw it was Legolas. Not that she needed to look, the electricity that traveled up her arm at the touch told her all she needed to know.

"I'll fetch some meat for you," he smiled, bringing her hand up to his face and gently pressing his soft, warm lips to her knuckles.

Evie almost _dropped_ to the ground. She knew her mouth was slightly hanging open in probably a very unappealing way. If he noticed, he didn't show it as he dropped her hand with a gentle smile, making his way from the balcony.

"..."

Nethina was openly smirking at her now. Her body was flushing with desire, her hands were outright trembling. Her skin outright burned where his lips had touched it.

"I am sorry," she laughed musically. "I heard him stomping up my steps. I tried to reason with him, but there was no stopping him. He was furious." she rolled her eyes.

"..."

Nethina's smirk slightly fell from her face as shock crossed her features.

"Wait here...and put this on," Nethina said quickly, putting the dress into Evie's stiff arms and fleeing from the room.

"Wha – what?" she said blankly, shaking her head and taking a deep breath as she shakily walked inside, pulling the gown from her body and awkwardly putting the dress over her head.

He..._kissed_ her. Well, not really. He kissed her hand...she looked at her knuckles, tracing her fingers over where his lips touched. It was as though a fire was burning under her skin. The more he touched her, the more intense it became. The thing was, he had barely even touched her. At first, she was so rattled she didn't know what to think...but now, the fire inside her body burned hotter and hotter with each touch—even if it was innocent.

She wasn't even thinking clearly as she breathed deeply, trying to quell the deep ache inside her.

_'Leoglas…' _she moaned inside her head.

That was all that was on her mind. This time, it was close to unbearable. Not quite, but _almost_.

She closed her eyes, breathing in and out deeply, trying to calm herself for a long while to no avail.

"Evie?"

Evie's eyes snapped open, seeing Nethina standing there with another elf. This male elf had long, chestnut brown hair. His dull colored blue eyes staring at her with interest. Like all male elves, he was extremely handsome. Of course, he was no Legolas.

"This is my husband, Heran," Nethina smiled, holding his arm gently as the elf flashed her a perfect smile.

"Pleasure to meet you," Evie smiled, nodding to the elf.

"As it is you, my lady," he spoke smoothly, inclining his head.

"Will you allow my husband to touch your forehead?" Nethina asked quickly, jolting Evie in surprise.

"What?" she blubbered, shocked and feeling slightly panicked. Why did the thought panic her? Nethina was watching her intently, making brief eye contact with her husband.

"Please, I need to see something," she smiled. "It will be alright, I promise."

Evie _really_, REALLY did not want another males hands on her in any way...but Nethina had done so much for her, she should be able to do this one, harmless thing. _Shouldn't_ she?

Evie nodded, somewhat reluctantly.

"Thank you," Nethina smiled, letting her husband go as he approached her slowly.

Evie's instincts were to run, but she stayed still, looking at him oddly as he kept a simple smile on his face.

She openly flinched when he stopped in front of her, raising his hand towards her. Every instinct in her body said _not_ to allow this, but she gritted her teeth against it.

He gently placed his palm on her forehead, barely applying pressure to her skin. The effect was as instantaneous and extremely alarming, for all parties involved.

Evie cried out, instantly recoiling and falling backwards.

Pain shot through her—But not physically. It was _emotional_ pain.

"Evie!" she heard Nethina gasp, feeling the females arms encircle around her. "I'm so sorry!"

Evie burst into tears, an unrelenting shame pounding through her. She felt dirty and ashamed.

"Wha- whats h-happening?" she cried, her head becoming dizzy before she fell into unconsciousness.


	9. Chapter Nine: All I Need

_**Chapter Nine: All I Need**_

"**_I'm dying to catch my breath  
Oh why don't I ever learn?  
I've lost all my trust,  
though I've surely tried to turn it around_**

_**Can you still see the heart of me?**_  
_**All my agony fades away**_  
_**when you hold me in your embrace**_

_**Don't tear me down for all I need**_  
_**Make my heart a better place**_  
_**Give me something I can believe**_  
_**Don't tear me down**_  
_**You've opened the door now, don't let it close."**_

* * *

Evie groaned, feeling something cool pressing into her forehead.

Her eyes fluttered open and her vision cleared to see Legolas sitting beside her, his handsome face looking relieved as she blinked rapidly.

"Is she okay?"

She heard Nethina's voice on the other side of her.

"Do _not _touch her," Legolas hissed, shocking Evie with the amount of venom in his beautiful voice. She didn't even know he _could_ sound like that.

Nethina recoiled, looking hurt.

"I told you, I had no idea she would-"

"It was a risk you never should have taken," Legolas cut in, his ice eyes cutting at the elleth. "she is human. _Anything_ could have happened."

"I didn't mean-"

"_Leave_." Legolas said firmly, looking back at a confused Evie as his eyes became more gentle.

"Uhhhh – what happened?" Evie asked, bringing her hand up to rub her face.

"You fainted," Legolas said quietly, cutting a glare in the direction of Nethina. "Did I not ask you to leave?"

"But-"

"I'm not asking you as a friend. I'm ordering you as a Prince," Legolas hissed. "Leave – _now_."

"L-Legolas!" Evie gasped, how could he be so rude to Nethina? The events came rushing back to her mind, but Evie wasn't angry. She was sure the elleth didn't _intentionally_ cause her so much pain. If she wasn't mad, Legolas shouldn't be mad.

"You need to rest," Legolas said gently, patting the cool cloth on her face.

"I-I don't want to rest," she said quickly, sitting up and looking at Nethina and she slowly walked from the room, looking dejected. "I'm not angry with you, Nethina. You don't have to leave."

Nethina turned to look at her with a small smile on her face.

"You're kind, Evie. But, Legolas is right. In my curiosity, I was careless," she frowned. "I am sorry. I will obey him."

"Curiosity about what? Why did I faint when your husband touched me?"

Nethina glanced at Legolas, who sighed and nodded.

"Give her what she wants," he murmured, standing and walking over to a table with a bowl, ringing out the rag.

"It means...you are mated to an Elf," Nethina smiled, a twinkle in her eye as shock smacked Evie in the face like a ton of bricks. "Legolas, to be exact."

Evie almost fainted again. Her heart was hammering so intensely as she looked over at Legolas, only to see his back facing towards her.

No, it couldn't be...no, she was just fucking with her! She looked back at Nethina, gasping in shock when she saw no lies on the woman's face. But...that didn't make sense! Well, it did make sense as to why she's wanted to leap on Legolas ever since she met him...but to be his_ soulmate?_ Wasn't that a little good to be true? And now that he knew it, why wasn't she writhing in desire like Tauriel said? No, there had to be a mistake. Even though she repeatedly told herself that there was some kind of mistake, she couldn't stop the immense joy that filled every pore of her body and the possibility. Even if it was small...there was a chance that Legolas was meant to be with _her_.

"B-but Tauriel said that I..." she glanced at Legolas, flushing. Could she say it in front of him?

"Be incapacitated with lust?" Nethina finished, making Evie look down and flush scarlet.

"Um – yeah, so there must be a mistake..."

"No, Legolas has not accepted it yet," Nethina said, glaring at Legola's back and making Evie's heart drop into her stomach. "for an Elf to mate with a human...well, its very rare and shocking. He'll need some time to come to his realization."

He...he didn't want to be with her...of course he didn't. Now he was trapped by this stupid mate thing.

"It is not that he does not want you," Nethina said, suddenly beside her and Evie thought that maybe she could read minds. "on the contrary, he does and it frightens him. Humans are so fragile, you see. His Elf nature won't readily accept it. That is all."

Evie bit her lip, staring down. Her self confidence wasn't entirely sure she could believe that…

"Even if I had not seen the looks in both of your eyes," Nethina chuckled. "if I had done that without you knowing Legolas...by your reaction, I would have known you were mated to a royal Elf. Only a strong blood line could illicit that type of reaction. King Thranduil will not take this well – be warned."

A memory came rushing back to her. Not of her time on earth, she wished, but a memory with the king…

"The king touched my hands," Evie whispered. "It felt...wrong. But it did not hurt me. The longer he held them, though, the more unbearable it became."

"Royal bloodline," Nethina smiled. "Legolas is blood of his father. That is why it did not react quite as horribly as when my husband touched you."

"Will...will it _always_ be like this?" Evie asked, still unable to look in Legolas' direction.

"Legolas has not claimed you," Nethina smiled even bigger as Evie's eyes widened comically. "After wards, it will feel extremely uncomfortable for both parties. The male will not harden for another female-"

Evie loudly cleared her throat, cutting off Nethina before she got third degree burns on her face.

"_Okay,_ I get it..." Evie said sheepishly.

Another elf walked into the room, and Evie saw that it was Nethina's husband. He had a kind smile on his face, holding a tray of food.

"I am terribly sorry," he said sincerely, setting the tray on her lap and being careful not to touch her.

She glanced at Legolas, seeing him turned around now. His arms were crossed around his chest, but his eyes were narrowed in on Heran, his ice eyes cutting into him and watching him like a hawk.

"I will not touch your beloved again, my Prince," Heran noticed the glare, bowing slightly to Legolas. "I only did what my mate asked me to do. I did not know it would harm her as it did."

"_Tanya farnuva – _I apologize if I am irrational with either of you for a period of time," Legolas frowned, but his ice eyes were still angry. "I cannot help it. You have hurt her."

Nethina and Heran glanced at each other, before looking at Legolas with smiles.

"We understand," Nethina smiled as Evie's heart raced, looking down at her plate and seeing what appeared to be sliced pork and steamed vegetables. And the best part, there was cake! A glass of water and also what appeared to be a glass of Elvish wine.

She wasn't sure if she wasn't freaking out because she didn't really believe it...or if subconsciously, she _already knew_. Did she already know that she was meant for Legolas? But being self conscious, her mind wouldn't allow her to? Now that she was thinking about it, it seemed like it was _obvious_.

She slowly bit into her meat, chewing slowly and keeping her mind occupied with her thoughts. The fact that Legolas had not accepted it hurt, but at the same time, his protective behavior over her brought her comfort.

She drank some water after finishing her food, sticking her fork in what appeared to be vanilla cake. She took a bite, her eyebrows raising when she didn't detect anything that she knew. It was sweet, and it was creamy...with a hint of nutmeg maybe? She wasn't sure. It was good, though. She quickly ate, picking up the wine and looking at the dark liquid before bringing it up to her lips and taking a gulp.

She immediately almost retched, coughing loudly as Legolas and Nethina rushed to her side. As she coughed, she held her hand up, shaking her head as she coughed to calm them.

It tasted like _horrible_. It tasted stronger than any alcohol she'd ever consumed, she knew that. It obviously had an extremely high alcohol content. What did it _take _for elves to get hammered? Fuck.

"I-I'm okay," she coughed once more, setting the glass down. "remind me to never again drink Elvish wine." she chuckled bitterly.

Legola's eyes softened and Nethina stressed expression looked relieved.

"It is late," Legolas said quietly, his eyes flashing. "you should sleep."

"I-I guess..." she looked down, unable to meet his gaze. Were things going to be weird with them now? She really hoped they weren't.

"Goodnight Evie," Nethina said, nodding her head with Heran and leaving the room.

"I must go take care of a few matters," Legolas said quietly when they were alone. "you will be safe here. But I will return, regardless."

Evie nodded, keeping her eyes down like the coward she was. She hated herself right now, but she couldn't help it. Just finding out she was mated to Legolas...made sense, but was almost too embarrassing for her to handle.

She laid back, finally looking to see the Legolas was gone. Her heart lurched, feeling a sense of loss at his absence.

"Don't be_ that _girl," Evie groaned out loud, rubbing her face. If you had told her a few days ago that she was going to be told that Legolas was her mate, she would have probably dropped in a dead faint. She just...why wasn't she freaking out? It wasn't like her. There was almost this calm acceptance about it. Was that how mating worked? And...what did this mean of her world?

Her rubbing her temples, groaning and rolling over. And she hated to say it, but she already missed Legolas' comforting presence.

Sighing, she fell into sleep.

_'She-she said my hair was stupid,' a small girl cried. 'e-everyone l-laughed, mommy!'_

_'They're just jealous baby,' a blonde haired woman said. Her kind green eyes were looking pained as she stroked the little girls hair with gentle hands._

_'B-but mommy, they said-' the little girl cried, wiping her eyes. _

_'I don't care what they said,' the pretty woman interjected kindly, wrapping her arms around the little girl and lifting her from the ground. _

_'You're a perfect angel,' she said, nuzzling the child's neck and making her burst into a fit of giggles. _

_'Where's daddy?' the little girl bounced in her arms, all sorrow forgotten. _

_'He's a work, baby,' she smiled, sitting the girl down in a chair at the table. 'do you want some strawberry milk and we'll watch The Lion King?' _

_The little girl nodded happily, bouncing up and down in her chair with excitement, making the mother laugh as the phone rang. _

_'Hello,' she answered, winking at the little girl. 'Yes, this is she…' _

_The small child watched as the smile fell from her mother's face, a look of horror crossing her pretty features. _

_'Mommy...what is it?' _

Evie gasped, shooting straight up in bed and looking around frantically. What...what was that? She had been looking through the eyes of the child, and the woman...was that her mother? Her heart lurched in response.

Yes, it _was_ a memory. The woman...her mother.

She gasped, looking around for Legolas. She had to tell him what happened! She jumped from the bed, feeling frantic as she slipped on white slippers and a white evening coat.

She raced towards the oak door, opening it and rushing quietly down the stairs. It was still very dark out, but she could tell that it was very early morning hours. Many of the elves still walked around, and she wondered if elves even slept. Now that she was thinking on it, she didn't recall ever seeing Legolas sleep...did they sleep? She'd have to ask after she told him about her dream.

She wandered around, her mind in shambles. Why did she have that small memory now? Was it because one piece of her destiny here was being revealed? Her mother...did she know she was missing? The kind woman seemed to love her very much, and she despaired at the idea that she may be suffering at this moment over her.

After a while, she frowned, stopping in front of a solider elf with black hair. He looked at her with a snobbish expression.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," she said in a high pitched voice. "I was wondering...have you seen Prince Legolas? I can't seem to find him."

"In there," he pointed almost aggressively, towards a small cabin near the base of a tree and making Evie jump in alarm.

"T-thank you," Evie gulped, as the solider nodded, continuing on his way.

She approached the cabin. When she got near, the door opened and she gasped in surprise, hiding behind a tree for a reason unknown to her.

"No...I-" her mouth dropped in horror before she covered it with her hands.

A elleth was emerging from the cabin. A_ beautiful_ elf...as she walked away with a blank expression on her face, Evie saw without a doubt that she was also tying the back of her gown. Her curled, golden hair fell across her back, but she could still see what she was doing. She was so beautiful. Much, much prettier than Evie knew she was. She took a huge hit to her self confidence, just looking at the woman.

Evie sunk to the ground, her heart breaking. It felt like someone had their hands inside her, twisting at her lungs and heart, getting ready to rip them out of her chest.

_'Legolas...he – how could he?'_ she cried in her mind, tears streaming down her face as she tried to muffle her gasping cries with her hands. _'No...maybe the elf was mistaken. Maybe he wasn't even in there…' _

With that thought, she looked around the tree, watching the small cabin until the sun looked at though it was about to rise. Right as she started to calm down, the door opened. She watched with wide eyes as the Prince stepped out, wearing a blue tunic and holding a bouquet of brilliant green and pure white flowers in his hands.

He looked down at them, fingering the petals for moments before a small smile curled his thin lips. He glided off the porch and off in the opposite direction the elleth had went.

Evie stayed behind the tree, trying to control her hyperventilating behind her hands as her eyes poured tears. She thought what she heard Haldir and Legolas saying hurt...that was nothing – _nothing_ compared to this. She tried to tell herself that she was wrong again, that he wouldn't do this...but what else was she supposed to think? An elleth exited the small cabin he had been in, _tying up her dress_. There was_ no _other logical explanation, was there? Besides, it had been apparent on more than one occasion that Legolas was a bit of a male-whore. Nethina herself had said that, 'many elleths had shared his bed.'

Pain unlike she ever felt entered her body as she cried, trying to convince herself that she just misunderstood like before. But she was no idiot. _Anyone _would think this. It wasn't her having shitty self confidence this time. What else could it _possibly _be? Was he trying out one more elf before he got stuck with her and unable to...get hard for anyone else? A part of her wanted to hunt down that elleth bitch and rip every fucking golden hair from her perfect little head.

She had to get out of here. She didn't care where she went.

She got up and ran past the cabin, fighting the urge to kick the door in and detective the place. She didn't need to look in there to know what she'd probably find: a messy bed...clothes on the floor.

She gasped as pain wracked her body. Looking around, she saw no more homes, or elves even. She was simply in the middle of trees. Not caring, she continued to push forward.

She ran and ran until the sun was bright, and the muscles in her legs protested in agony. She fell down to the ground, laying down and crying as her legs throbbed painfully. But it wasn't anything compared to the pain in her heart.

She had no idea how long she laid there, crying. At some point, she must have exhausted herself with her sobs and fell asleep. She heard snorting at her ear, making her frown and jolt in alarm when she heard a really loud neighing.

Her eyes flew open, looking to see Sebastian laying down on the ground next to her.

"Se-sebby?" Evie asked in alarm, making the horse neigh loudly again and nuzzle her face.

Legolas.

Tears poked her eyes again and she wrapped her arms around the horses neck, crying softly into his mane.

"Genevieve!"

She froze in place, hearing Legola's voice cry out in the distance. That's why Sebastian was neighing so loudly...he was alerting Legolas that he had found her.

Traitor horse.

She attempted to lift herself from the ground, only to gasp as her legs gave out, making her fall right back down.

Before she could even think of another plan, Legolas was looming over her, looking frantic.

She had no idea what expression was on her face as she looked at him, but whatever it was, his eyes widened, looking shocked and hurt.

"Evie..." he still said somewhat frantically. "What do you _think_ you're doing?! You went past the borders!"

She said nothing, but continued to stare at him. How could he just act like nothing was wrong? How could he have done that and not show immediate remorse? Her sorrow was there, but one emotion was more clear than any other.

Rage.

He reached down to pick her up, not waiting for a reply very long.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH ME!" she screamed at him, actually punching his arm.

He withdrew instantly, an extremely pained and alarmed look on his face. But she knew it wasn't the punch. She was a weak girl and knew that her punches didn't have that much force. He looked confused, and seemed to be at a loss as for what to say. How could he not know?

"Evie..." he said quietly, gulping and trying once again to reach out to her.

"NO!" she screamed, feeling tears leak down her face. "How could you?" she spat through gritted teeth.

Complete confusion crossed his handsome face, mixing with hurt. After moments of what appeared to be intense thinking, his eyes widened and she knew he knew.

"No, Evie..." he said quietly, his voice sounding desperate.

"No, my fucking ass," she spat, tears rolling down her face and she grabbed Sebastian, using him to help her stand to her feet. "I know what I saw."

"Please understand..." he said quietly, fueling her rage.

"UNDERSTAND? _UNDERSTAND_? NO I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! YOU FUCKED SOMEONE ELSE!"

"I did NOT touch her!" he exclaimed, slightly raising his voice and making her whip her head back, glaring at him. His face was looking desperate, but he didn't look as though he was lying.

"Then – no, I saw her tying up her dress!" Evie accused, pointing at him. How could he possibly explain that?

"I...Atheria came to me," Legolas frowned. "I use to...bed her when I visited here-"

Evie practically hissed, shocking herself.

"She came inside and removed her clothing," Legolas explained desperately. "I did _not_ touch her, I _swear;_ I _felt nothing_. I asked her to leave, and she did so quickly in her humiliation that she hadn't quite finished tying up her dress."

Evie didn't know what to think. It did sound like it was a situation that could happen, but he had not claimed her, so therefore he was, apparently, free to do whatever with whoever he wished.

At her silence, Legolas dropping his hands, approaching her slowly. To her surprise, he dropped to his knees in front of her, looking up at her desperately.

"This is my fault..." he whispered, making her eyes widen. "I should have shouted from the rooftops that I belong to you. I am sorry you had to see such a thing...I don't know what I would have done if I had been in your place."

"What would you have done?" she asked slowly, her heart beating frantically as his expression turned dark.

"...I wouldn't be surprised if I tried to kill him," he said darkly, his lips barely moving and making her eyebrows shoot up.

"Once I got over my shock, I wanted to hunt her down and rip every hair from her fucking head," Evie said bitterly. "I still kinda do, to be honest. She's so beautiful...I thought you'd like her more-"

"_Never_," he answered instantly, his blue eyes narrowing in on her. "in my eyes, she could never be as good as you - _never_. Please don't ever say that she holds more beauty than you do, because she does not."

The face that her heart soared with happiness at his words must have shown on her face.

His eyes glittered at her before speaking.

"Do not think I don't desire you..." he said quietly, making her flush. "I do, more than I ever have anything or anyone. I have accepted you as my mate, but as Nethina said, my elvish nature has not. Since you are of another race, it is hard for it to accept being so devoted to someone who is not immortal. It is self-defense. There are ways for you to become immortal, but that part of myself does not recognize it."

"D-did you know?" Evie gulped, her heart pounding in her rib cage. "That I was. I mean, before Nethina-"

"I suspected it..." he admitted quietly. "I could not see what impact I was having on you. You seemed to not want to be in my presence, so therefore my mind said you couldn't possibly be my mate. You did not act as a mate should, but you were also not an elf. You did not try to seduce me, though I found myself being seduced by you, without you even trying. It confused me greatly."

Evie's heart was pounding. She was at a loss for words...he'd – he'd desired her almost since they met?

"I felt sick," Legolas admitted. "Here you were, an innocent young woman, needing my help and protection...and my improper thoughts of you," he frowned. "I felt disgusted with myself thinking such things about a sweet girl."

Evie blinked, then busted out laughing, jolting even Legolas. She really WAS one bipolar bitch.

"T-that's so funny!" she cackled as his eyes softened at the sound and look of her laughter. "I-I thought that same thing! Of course, without the innocent girl part," she smirked as he rolled his eyes. "I thought, 'here he is, trying to help me and I'm getting all pervy on him.'"

"Pervy?" he questioned, tilting his head adorably.

"Erm – perverted like...improper thoughts, like you said," she muttered, flushing and looking up from him.

She felt cool, gentle fingers wrap around her hand making electric currents pulse through her body as her eyes fluttered down to him.

"Do you feel it?" he whispered, gently rubbing his fingers across her knuckles. If her other hand hadn't been holding onto Sebastian, she probably fell to the ground.

"Yes, I always have," she inhaled sharply, seeing his eyes darken. "wha-what do you feel?" she asked, her voice low.

"I feel many things," he whispered, looking at her small hand in his large one. "calmness, pleasure, and an unrelenting desire threatening to drive me mad."

Evie breathed in deeply, trying to control herself as emotion racked her body.

"What do you feel?" he asked.

She gulped. "Not calmness," she squeaked, making a sinister smile curl his lips.

"I will not take you until my elven part accepts you," he said lowly, rising quickly and making her eyes widen as he looked down at her, bringing her hand to his face and closing his eyes. He pressed her hand into the side of his face, inhaling deeply. "but when I do..." his blue eyes snapped open. "rest well, _Lirimaer_, for I will take you for hours."

Desire pulsed through her body, making her close her eyes and bite her lip to try to control herself.

"W-when?" she managed to choke out, hating how weak her voice sounded.

"You will know when my elven part accepts you..." he continued, a husky quality in his voice. "your desire will increase greatly, and I will not be able to control myself." she heard him inhale deeply. "I can barely control it _now_."

With a gasp, she felt herself being lifted sideways onto Sebastian with Legolas sliding behind her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and held the reigns with the other hand. Her body was practically throbbing and she needed a distraction.

"I – I had a dream of my mother," she choked out, remembering why she had sought him in the first place.

That worked. She almost felt him calm behind her.

"What happened, _Lirimaer_?" he asked quietly, rubbing her side through her dress. "Is that why you sought after me?"

"Y-Yes, I-I wanted to t-tell you," she gasped. "W-will you stop that?! I can't concentrate!"

His hand paused on her side, a deep chuckle sounding behind her as she remained flustered.

"I cannot help myself," he whispered in her ear, sending chills all over her body. Asshole. He was doing it on purpose. If she had any guts, she'd do it back to him.

"ANYWAY," she said loudly as he chuckled behind her with Sebastian slowly trotting towards Lothlorien. "It was a short memory. I was crying, she comforted me...then she got a call that made her look like she was going to cry..."

"Then?" Legolas asked, his arm tightening on her.

"Then...I woke up," she frowned. "I thought maybe I got a memory after discovering I was your mate. Maybe that's part of my destiny here?"

He was quiet for moments. "That is a possibility that only time will tell."

"I suppose so," Evie frowned, falling into silence.

"Sing for Sebastian and I," he whispered. "He has missed you, and to find you so distraught upset him greatly."

"I don't feel like singing, Legolas," Evie frowned, feeling sad over her mother.

"It always makes you feel better. You love music," he encouraged sweetly. "Please, try."

Evie rolled her eyes, feeling annoyed. But, something clever came to mind and she smiled.

"Sometimes I wanna slap you in your whole face  
There's no one quite like you  
You push all my buttons down  
I know life would suck without you

At the same time, I wanna hug you  
I wanna wrap my hands around your neck  
You're an asshole but I-"

"I don't like that," he cut in, grumbling from behind her and making her smile.

"Why not?" she asked innocently.

"The words aren't pleasant."

"Not everything is pleasant where I'm concerned," she chuckled.

"I know that."

She turned her head, only to see him smirking mischievously at her.

She sighed. "I supposed I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"Just because you can be difficult, doesn't mean I'd have it any other way," he assured her quietly, making her tense when she felt him press his face into her head, inhaling deeply.

"Stop sniffing my hair, you creep."

"But you smell lovely," he chuckled. "to me, anyways. To other elves, you probably just smell like a human."

That sounded like a _bad_ thing.

"But…I bathe everyday!" she said in a high pitched voice. "even Nethina said I smelled nice-"

"I didn't say you smelt bad, Genevieve," Legolas chuckled. "What I meant was, even if you did smell bad, as your mate, you'd smell like the freshest flowers to me. Because you would still smell like _you_. Does that make sense?"

"..."

"I can't decide on whether that's really sweet...or really gross," she grimaced, picturing an elf sniffing a greasy person with a happy expression.

He chuckled happily behind her as they approached Lothlorien. "Why, do you intend not to bathe?"

"No, I'm very clean," Evie said instantly, repulsed. "I hate dirt."

"It is quite good you're mated to an elf," he chuckled. "you would not have such luxury with another human in this world."

He jumped down from the horse, reaching up to her and lifting her down. She winced as she put weight on her sore legs. She literally must have slightly pulled a muscle...God, could she be anymore pathetic?

Legolas definitely noticed. He said nothing, sliding an arm behind her back and the other behind her knees and lifted her swiftly from the ground.

"What am I going to do with you?" he lifted an arrogant eyebrow down at her as she looked up at him with big eyes.


End file.
